Why Do Garfield Phones Keep Washing Ashore On This Little French Town?
For nearly four decades, a weird phenomenon has been happening on the peninsula known as Brittany. Located in the northwestern region of France, Brittany borders the Iroise Sea. A small part of the Celtic Sea, the Iroise Sea is one of Europe’s most dangerous waterways (via World Atlas). With its strong currents affected by swells, along with wind waves caused by its geographical location, the rocky coast of the region is littered with shipwrecks.
Sometime around 1982, a random storm wrecked an unknown shipping vessel along the rocky cliffs of the Iroise Sea coast. While there is no official record of the wreck or how many containers were actually lost, local residents began noticing Garfield phones washing ashore (via The Washington Post). Over the next three-plus decades, replicas of the fat orange cat repeatedly washed ashore, in various states of completeness. In fact, according to The Washington Post, some 200 parts from the Tyco manufactured phones littered the coast in 2018 alone.
A merchandising phenomenon
Created by cartoonist Jim Davis, Garfield made his comic strip debut in newspapers across the U.S. in 1978. Initially running in only 40 papers (via the Independent) with the Chicago Sun-Times dropping the strip shortly after its launch, Garfield became a smash hit. The orange cat would feature in 850 newspapers by 1981 (via Comics Alliance).
A virtual avalanche of merchandise was produced to capitalize on the feline’s success. Everything from books compiling the famous comic strip to stuffed animals and phones were manufactured; everyone and anyone was trying to get in on the Garfield juggernaut. Tyco Toys, in fact, created the first Garfield phone in 1978. A replica of the tubby tabby, the phone was a bastion of modern technology, complete with eyes that opened when the receiver was lifted off the unit (via Billie’s Phone Museum). While actual sales and production numbers aren’t available, the phones proved popular enough for Tyco to send multiple shipping containers of the famous feline to a hungry world.
It was the early ’80s, when locals and tourists of Brittany, France’s Iroise Sea began to take notice of the strange phenomenon of plastic, orange pieces washing ashore. Eventually, a theory came together: A shipping vessel containing Tyco’s Garfield phones went down in the treacherous waters. In doing so, its cargo was released into the ocean (via Engadget). Because of the rocky terrain that makes up the coast, there was no real way for anyone, the French government or otherwise, to verify any of the facts that surrounded the mystery shipping container(s). The only proof officials had of the situation was Garfield’s smirking countenance continually washing onto the beaches of the coast.
Unknowable environmental impact
In 2019, Rene Morvan, a local to the French province, informed authorities that he discovered the wayward shipping container in the cliffs of the Iroise Sea. While exploring the coast with his brother, Morvan discovered the shipping container wedged into a cave (via The Washington Post). Officials quickly discovered, however, the container was empty, save for a few phone fragments, per Atlas Obscura. The Iroise Sea had already claimed the container’s bounty.
While the mystery of the Garfield phones has been solved, the environmental impact they are having is not entirely known. According to Claire Simonin-Le Meur, president of the volunteer organization known as Ar Viltansoù (whose goal is to clean French beaches on a regular basis), the depth of the environmental problem is unknowable. “They say in 400 years the plastic will degrade, which is to say instead of big, visible pieces of plastic, it will be present in small quantities everywhere, in the water, in the air, in the sand” (via Atlas Obscura). Coupled with the fact that it’s also unknown how many other containers containing the lasagna loving cat may still be lost amongst the cliffs, the environmental impact the phones are having is clearly no laughing matter.
47 thoughts on “Why Do Garfield Phones Keep Washing Ashore On This Little French Town?”
Leave a Reply
The Crocodile Moment That Had Steve Irwin Fans Seeing Red
What You Should Know About Michelangelo's Chamber
The Untold Truth Of Danny Rolling, The Gainesville Ripper
The Most Disturbing Parts Of The Bible Ranked
The Untold Truth Of Noah Lyles
A 200-Million-Year-Old Dinosaur Just Revealed Something New
How Much Money Linda Lee Cadwell Inherited After Bruce Lee's Death
Is David Copperfield Married?
What The Park From Class Action Park Looks Like Today
Optical Illusions That'll Fool Your Brain
fenofibrate ca cost tricor 200mg purchase fenofibrate sale
buy tadalafil sale us pharmacy viagra sildenafil pills 100mg
order ketotifen 1 mg zaditor 1mg tablet tofranil 25mg uk
order minoxytop generic can i buy ed pills over the counter best ed medications
order aspirin online aspirin 75 mg for sale imiquad ca
precose 25mg canada precose online buy buy generic griseofulvin online
order meloset melatonin 3 mg cost danazol 100 mg ca
pill duphaston order duphaston 10 mg generic order empagliflozin 25mg
fludrocortisone 100mcg uk purchase fludrocortisone generic loperamide over the counter
prasugrel 10mg cost order thorazine 100mg sale purchase detrol for sale
pyridostigmine 60 mg canada piroxicam tablet order rizatriptan 10mg online cheap
vasotec 5mg for sale lactulose without prescription buy lactulose cheap
xalatan over the counter buy xalatan without a prescription rivastigmine 6mg oral
prilosec 10mg ca buy singulair 10mg online lopressor cost
cheap cialis 20mg generic cialis canada purchase sildenafil
buy cenforce no prescription naproxen 250mg for sale purchase chloroquine for sale
order nexium 40mg purchase topiramate online cheap topamax oral
astelin 10 ml oral order acyclovir sale order avapro 300mg sale
order zyloprim 300mg generic purchase allopurinol without prescription buy rosuvastatin 10mg pill
ranitidine 150mg pill zantac price celebrex pills
order buspirone 10mg pill buy buspar 10mg online cordarone drug
where can i buy flomax order flomax 0.4mg generic order simvastatin 10mg without prescription
order spironolactone 25mg buy generic finasteride order proscar generic
pay for assignments australia essay writing sites dissertation writers online
order diflucan 200mg generic buy cheap diflucan ciprofloxacin buy online
order sildenafil pills sildalis for sale order estrace 2mg online cheap
order metronidazole 400mg pill buy cephalexin tablets order cephalexin 250mg sale
lamotrigine price buy generic lamictal 50mg buy mebendazole 100mg online cheap
cleocin 300mg pill cleocin pills sildenafil pill
retin cream over the counter retin canada order generic stendra
buy tamoxifen online cheap rhinocort allergy nasal spray order budesonide
buy cefuroxime medication order robaxin 500mg generic robaxin price
order tadalafil buy generic tadalafil order indomethacin
order trazodone for sale where can i buy clindac a order clindamycin generic
lamisil 250mg drug order lamisil online cheap play casino games for cash
buy aspirin 75 mg for sale aspirin 75mg usa sugarhouse casino online
write essays for me no deposit casino gambling meaning
academic writing article student thesis order cefixime
buy rocaltrol 0.25 mg generic labetalol tablet order fenofibrate 160mg online
trimox 500mg oral brand trimox 500mg macrobid usa
strongest acne medication prescription purchase trileptal without prescription oxcarbazepine 300mg cost
purchase minocycline sale buy generic ropinirole ropinirole online buy
online doctors that prescribe ambien buy sleep aids online weight loss drugs prescription online
oral medication to stop smoking arthritis pills at walmart strongest non narcotic pain medicine
medroxyprogesterone 5mg canada biltricide cost hydrochlorothiazide 25mg oral
order periactin 4mg sale fluvoxamine 50mg drug order nizoral 200mg online cheap
antifungal cream for pediatric face best medication for herpes outbreaks blood pressure medicine names n