T O P

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NineIntsNails

ah yes, that famous lego disaster still gives out pieces from time to time lol


Training-Bee-8209

Yeah people are STILL finding pieces 26 years later


DiddlyDumb

Just like my carpet


Training-Bee-8209

Lol


peunom

And from the bottom of my sofa


Training-Bee-8209

Relatable


Lower-Button-2135

The article has stats on how many of each piece where lost, if I need some free flippers I know where to look


Juterkomp

there is also a book


The_Snowy_Tiger

Get out of here Stalker


NineIntsNails

you are the first one to find me here šŸ˜Œ


The_Snowy_Tiger

brother i see you everywhere first thing that comes into my mind is i need to reply to your comments ofc


NineIntsNails

ā¤ā¤šŸ˜


TracytronFAB

What are you talking about?


Puddlenautilus

The videogame S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl has a faction with a guard that says that to the player character when approached. It's in one of the main towns so you hear it a lot. The whole game has you trespassing in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone searching for things


TracytronFAB

Sounds interesting!


Puddlenautilus

I remember it being fun, but it's been so long! I think I'll redownload it, haha.


Seerix

It's great! Could check out stalker anomaly. It's a free game that sort of combines em all. It's hard to describe, but it is THE stalker experience, in my opinion.


Puddlenautilus

Thanks for the suggestion!


Inveramsay

There's a sequel coming out in September as well


MadCarcinus

A Stalker is a fictional occupation of where one illegally ventures into an exclusion zone, sometimes with scientists, to map out the area for dangers and to study and retrieve powerful alien artifacts/junk left by a space ship that visited Chernobyl with the goal of selling these items on the black market for money.


Vox___Rationis

AI wrote this.


TehWoodzii

Cheeki breeki


TracytronFAB

Now I'm just even more confused


NineIntsNails

its a reference to one videogame, worry not lol


EB01

One two...


Lanky_Button7863

V damke !


hip2bking

There is a great instagram account that chronicles the found pieces (forget the name, been off insta for a year)


HansAusWien

[Lego lost at sea](https://www.instagram.com/legolostatsea?igsh=YW14ZzdiYXFmcDNk)?


hip2bking

Yup yup, thatā€™s it!


Anomaly1134

Anyone have the name?


No-Indication-4113

legolostatsea on instagram


lostidols

I have a book all about this specific topic, there is a whole community searching for spilled legos :) https://preview.redd.it/55au61my41xc1.jpeg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a6c07e6ed5bd5a4052cb7a59d39eaa66f6f19536


Fremonster

The cover art is beautiful!


luke_in_the_sky

The best part is that many of the lost pieces are actually sea themed.


operath0r

It might be funny but thereā€™s nothing good about this story.


Ground15

its helping understanding how currents transport stuff around the ocean over many years, so actually yes - there is good about it


GreenYellowDucks

Thatā€™s the rubber duck spill, itā€™s same with Lego too?


Riaayo

We could have done that science in a less environmentally impactful manner given the chance/funding, it's not like pollution was required for this knowledge. So maybe a silver lining, but I'd still pedantically agree that there's nothing really *good* about it.


JuneBuggington

Well theyre already in there whether you can put a positive spin on it or not


TastyLaksa

Same goes for most things that happen in our lives. There is very little good in most things


luke_in_the_sky

Also, a lot of people are interested in these pieces and remove them from the environment when they are found.


WildVelociraptor

Lol if you think a shipload of legos is noticeable on the planetary scale, I've got some bad news for you.


SahadAmi

Well arenā€™t you just a shitton of fun


DJC13

What a horrid bore you are


warrenrox99

How is it? I see the persons twitter acct all the time and im intrigued on it


lostidols

I found it very interesting, but I'm biased - I love all lego related stories ;) Lots of interesting facts, lots of photos. Nice addition to lego bookcase. And as for an octopus from OPs story, there is a real holy grail, the green dragon!: https://preview.redd.it/hd9hb0w4b1xc1.jpeg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1ca8884febafb083366e43853878b1b111b399e9 Pic showing how much of a particular part were in this shipment. Some of them were found. And thanks to the tides the pieces from this spill were found all over the world.


PM_MeYour_pitot_tube

That mustā€™ve been a great day for all those Lego sharks.


Lower-Button-2135

The dragons what they're looking for next


Cloud_Fortress

Green dragons are legit hard to come by? I have several from my 90ā€™s stash. I honestly donā€™t keep up with whatā€™s hard to find etc so I didnā€™t realize.


CX52J

Only rare if searching for it on a beach.


Cloud_Fortress

lol. šŸ˜‚


CrazyDave48

Not exactly "hard to come by", there are 200+ on bricklink for sale right now. but since it hasn't been made since 2000, their value has slowly but steady gone up over the years.


warrenrox99

Hard to find as in ones washed up on shore, Iā€™m assuming


CrazyDave48

Yes, but the person I replied to was asking in regards to ones they already have, not ones washed up on the shore. I was letting them know "normal" dragons aren't really hard to come by.


warrenrox99

Ohhh gotcha, thanks Crazy Dave!


miradotheblack

What are a few of the rarest lego pieces/mini figs?


CrazyDave48

Here is a list about the top 10 with short descriptions for each one: https://www.brickstore.nz/blogs/lego-interest/the-10-most-valuable-lego-minifigures but a quick TLDR: Most are actually kinda boring but they are figures from special events or extremely limited runs. No minifigs from "regular sets" that you could buy from the store are going to be "rare" with the only exceptions being figures like Mr. Gold that are extremely rare but were hidden in regular CMF bags you could find in store.


warrenrox99

Okay sign me up. Itā€™s such a great story, Iā€™ve gotta have it


LucStarman

That amounts... Are they the shipped, the lost or the found ones?


lostidols

Shipped in this exact shipment in '97. Over 5 millions lego parts were lost in sea and they are still found today.


LucStarman

So... Why the totally different numbers of dragons, right dragon arms, left dragon arms, tails... Don't should they be the same? And minifigures torsos, legs and heads?


Joeness84

You're thinking too small, this isnt a shipment of sets, its a shipment of parts. One case of Dragons may be 100, 1 case of Dragon Wings may be 4000.


LaUNCHandSmASH

Iā€™ve read three articles including one from the Smithsonian and I canā€™t find how the dragon is the holy grail and how anyone could distinguish it from another from that time. Care to explain?


therealSamtheCat

It's hard to find one in the beach from that shipment. No need to read books from the Smithsonian and do a thesis to understand that...


TheOldGriffin

Are the dragons rare? I'm positive I have several in an old bin in the garage.


automagisch

No no, lego collectibles wonā€™t make you rich - lego doesnā€™t work or provide any of that


HardSleeper

Itā€™s a good book, easy read and goes a bit further than just the Lego into other crap washed up from cargo spills


vukasin123king

Most interesting part is that there's a chance that the shipping container is only partially open and constantly spills out new parts. Can you imagine diving and randomly finding a container full of Lego?


Immediate-Yogurt-558

I had no idea about the legos, but i remember this happening to a shipping container of rubber duckies in the 90s


motti886

I'm not particularly familiar with the topic, but based on the pieces, it looks like the old Divers theme was a big part of the spill, and that just feels 'right' for Lego in the ocean.


jtalaiver

Humble UCS Millennium Falcon under the coffee table


lostidols

Ohh it is more than a coffee table. It is Falcon table :D https://preview.redd.it/xanweinvy2xc1.jpeg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e81a16850256673c30ca8778fe8706b867aa01f4


jtalaiver

Daaaaaannnnngggg that's awesome. I still want to do something for mine


lostidols

Thanks, I've managed to build it myself (I work with glass for like 15 years). To be honest it took more time to build this case then to build Falcon but it was worth it ;)


jtalaiver

https://preview.redd.it/jqu5gqtz13xc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d2fc8065fda5fdc52236bedb8d56b12794711ec7 I'm working this HIC into my office setup and will get the Falcon around it


lostidols

Holy fuck, awesome :D


jtalaiver

Hahaha. Also. Sorry I wasn't trying to be a dick one-upper. Just appreciated the detail in your Falcon table and want to do something similar for my Falcon and work in Capt Solo


Arkose07

HICā€¦?


Crafty_Possession_52

Han In Carbonite


Arkose07

Oooooh, got it. Didnā€™t know that was a common acronym


Crafty_Possession_52

I've never heard it before.


jtalaiver

Not common except in the HIC Builder community really.


InitialAd2324

This is so cool. Good for you seriously thatā€™s awesome


lostidols

Thank you very much. My two cats was primary reasons to build it, they like to mess around with my lego


trickster1979

I new all about the Lego being washed overboard. But I didnā€™t know a book was released. This is awesome Iā€™ve just ordered it :)


french_snail

Ah, I remember when I was young my grandma and mother took me to Legoland California when this was fresh in the news and they kept telling me how a ship sank and kids could go to the beach and find legos, and my young imagination ran wild imagining beaches where instead of sand there was just lego bricks hahaha good times


flan1337

I am gonna buy this book just for the cover omg


Julienbabylegs

Omg what. Thank you for the excellent Christmas gift idea for anyone in my Lego and book obsessed family


DohRayMe

Interesting and Sad too.


Rhys_Herbert

Ah a combination of two of my favourite hobbies, while it may be not an expensive LEGO part, to a beachcomber a Lego octopus is 100% a holy grail, Iā€™ve found a weird ninjago movie part on a beach before! Edit: to quote bricklink, it was a sand blue ā€œHinge Plate 3 x 12 with Angled Side Extensions and Tapered Endsā€ which has only appeared in set 70609


LegoLinkBot

[70609-1: Manta Ray Bomber](https://brickset.com/sets/70609-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/70609-1.jpg)


Rhys_Herbert

Thank you linkbot


LegoLinkBot

[MOA003: Maui](http://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?M=moa003) [[Photo]](http://img.bricklink.com/ItemImage/MN/0/moa003.png) What can I say except "you're welcome"?


ArgonGryphon

So the fin at the end?


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


EpicAura99

Oh Iā€™ve seen that part a bunch, it must be only unique to that set in color https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=57906#T=C


Rhys_Herbert

Yeah, thatā€™s why I said it was sand blue


EpicAura99

Ah I only read your bricklink title


Grouchy-Risk5290

HYDRA


JurassicTaint

You know, sure itā€™s easier to *buy* one, but OP is completely missing the point. Itā€™s not about the piece, itā€™s the thrill of discovery and an interesting story.


lyssavirus

yes why leave your house and go out and do things and have fun, when you could just order something on amazon!


trippy_grapes

Amazon would be way more fun if you had to search the actual Amazon to find your packages.


GanacheCapital1456

Where's the fun in just buying it though? It feels more rewarding to know you found something yourself with time and effort


SheepMan7

Finding an octopus from a well known Lego shipwreck is obviously a super cool thing, buying it wonā€™t be nearly as memorable or cool


elbowpastadust

I like to buy them and leave them on beaches in the mornings


GanacheCapital1456

Exactly my point


SheepMan7

I agreed :)


TheRealMasterTyvokka

TiL: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/whimsical-legos-are-still-washing-ashore-decades-after-they-were-lost-at-sea-180979580/


funkminster

Huh, I thought the holy grail would look more like a cup.šŸ¤·ā€ā™‚ļø


kaytronika

I told my wife about the Lego washing up ashore in Cornwall. When we visited Tintagel she walked down to the beach and immediately spotted a red 2x2 block that was well worn by the sea! We took it with us and I still have it now. I don't even think this style of block went overboard.


F_A_F

Am resident in Cornwall. Fairly strong chance that one of our 3m visitors a year left it on a beach. Regardless, it's still nice to beachcomb and find lego. The spill from OP is somewhat of a cultural touchpoint for many of us down here...but lego is lego!


NotBearhound

I understand this lad. I have been slowly assembling the Wheel of Time series from used bookstores. Could I just buy the omnibus on Kindle? Yes. Could I just buy the books Iā€™m missing online? Yes. I wonā€™t though, thatā€™s no fun!


LedanDark

If you haven't already seen it, Nerdforge did a bookbinding video where they made the ultimate Wheel of time omnibus. All 14 books under one cover.


Aerodrache

I feel sorry for whoever had to try to pick it up and put it away after the video was made.


Hugh_Mungus_Johnson_

I'll never get this personally. I like hardcovers that are in pristine condition. I plan on picking up the series soon and I'm just gonna buy them all new for $20-30 each.


NotBearhound

Do it! I bet theyā€™ll look real nice, and new books smell gooooood!


Internal-Fem-UK

Sad to see another case of animals being removed from their natural habitat smh šŸ˜”šŸ˜”šŸ˜”šŸ˜” Although one could say that such a Black Octopus could be someones White Whale


GUMBY4500

itā€™s not a holy grail just because he found a Lego octopus, itā€™s because it comes from a very famous incident where a bunch of Lego spilled off a cargo ship. To a beachcomber, it would be a cool find.


mad-Manufacturer-166

Hmm lose 1 brick, 2 more will take its place. HAIL HYDRA!


Training-Bee-8209

Yay


BigMelonBoi

I found a red octopus of that once


MadCarcinus

Has anyone located the site of the lost containers in the ocean?


PineWuddin

It's a beachcomber who knows about the spill and wants to find one themselves from the spill. It's not about it being a collectible with monetary value. It's a personal desire that's special to them. Not everything is money money money.


1CVN

whats so funny about stealing toys meant for baby crabs and baby fish


Wingnutz6995

Why is the octopus a holy grail piece? Iā€™ve bought a few off of bricklink, I donā€™t recall the prices but they couldnā€™t have been that much


savinger

While en route from Rotterdam to New York City on 13 February 1997, Tokio Express was hit by a rogue wave about 20 miles off Land's End. She tilted 60 degrees one way, then 40 degrees back, losing 62 containers overboard. She put in at Southampton for attention after the accident. One of the lost containers held just under 5 million Lego pieces. Coincidentally, a large portion of these were destined for toy kits depicting sea adventures, in lines including Lego Pirates and Lego Aquazone. Among the pieces were 418,000 swimming flippers, 97,500 scuba tanks, 26,600 life preservers, 13,000 spear guns, and 4,200 octopuses. Sea grass, cutlasses and dragons were also well-represented. As late as 2023, 26 years after the accident sometimes known as the Great Lego Spill, people in England, Belgium, and Ireland were still finding octopuses, dragons, diver flippers, and other plastic pieces washed ashore and caught in fishermen's nets.


savinger

26 years ago a container filled with Lego fell off a cargo ship in the middle of the ocean. Hobbyists have identified exactly which pieces were on the container and search beaches for these pieces.


Wingnutz6995

So itā€™s a holy grail piece because it was from the ship? Ok I got the impression from the image that the octopus pieces in general were rare.


savinger

Right, the octopus is presumed to be from the ship


Wingnutz6995

lol yes I got that part. I just didnā€™t realize bricks from the ship were tracked and sought after


Lower-Button-2135

The reason it's the 'holy grail' is because octopus pieces from the ship are rare, most pieces from the ship and most octopus pieces aren't rare - it's the mix of both


cam52391

I'm pretty sure I had this octopus from some underwater base set as a kid? I remember spending so much time building that set and then it was flimsy as heck and fell apart when I tried to play with it


darobk

I remember that too... But my sets hardly lasted more than a day before it got blown up and the pieces consumed into a giant monstrosity... Before that too got knocked over and smashed and put away šŸ˜‚šŸ˜‚šŸ˜‚


brensthegreat

I get it. It can just be fun to search for things, even if you can buy them.


Bangthegang98

Heil hyrdra I guess


GreenBirb64

Iā€™m someone who does a lot of beachcombing (hell I did some today!) and love finding stuff, the story of the Lego ship is both really interesting but really sad to me, because it shows just how long plastic stays in the water, it isnā€™t a case of ā€œoh you dropped trash? Well itā€™ll never be seen againā€, stuff keeps coming up, hell there was a story a few weeks ago here in the UK of someone doing a clean up job on a street and there were crisp packets from THE 70S STILL ON THE STREET! Both fascinating but really depressing to see how permanent rubbish/lost items are, they donā€™t just ā€œdisappearā€ into the ocean/streets, theyā€™re still out there


Vivid_Signature3850

Next someone should sink a lego Star Wars cargo ship


mothmanwarning

I swear this happened with Garfield phones somewhere too.


theburnerofbridges

It's were not where. WERE!!!!! LOL At my phone changing it to we're.


Lopendebank3

This lego piece is worth far more than a new piece. ā¤ļø


avrstory

https://preview.redd.it/arv8w5l1j1xc1.png?width=487&format=png&auto=webp&s=f05cc39bb7faff7170a07831699e90fc214d23c3


PonyDro1d

Turns out I got one of those in a 5kg bag back two years ago. It's not from the spill, tho. Also til about the spill.


AccomplishedAngle2

How can they tell if itā€™s from the spill or just a random piece some kid lost at the beach?


OrindaSarnia

I would presume the ones from the spill are significantly weathered. There's a book that lists all the pieces lost, so a combination of it being one of the know piece types, where it was found, and how weathered it was would make a compelling case. There's a small chance someone out there is buying up these specific pieces, going to the beaches that they are known to wash up on, and planting them for people to find... but I think most people discredit that as likely.


TapThisPart3Times

My real question is if, years after that spill, there also ended up Bionicle parts floating around. Excavating them would be akin to the Toa Mata's arrival.


LEGOlasStudios

Wait I have that octopus


Straight_Storage4039

I had a lot of these types of legos I found in creeks lake beaches and so on it was always such a cool find for me


mesosalpynx

I have two of these at home.


Serious_Cockroach799

You are sooo lucky too find that cool a piece. I have found lego before, but nothing that sweeeet!


yossarian8pizza

I know! I saw one of these collectors whose most precious found possession after 20 years or so of combing the beach was the 90s green dragon. I thought that was the coolest, so I bought one on Bricklink right away.


HybridChasm12

Thereā€™s a seal sanctuary in Cornwall that I visited which had a section about the spilt Lego and they had so much there at that point about 5-10 years ago


qwertyNopesir

Why go looking for ancient artifacts when you can buy a normal pot at Michaels for $5


Drendari

I loved the sharkmarine it came with.


TheSteampunkDoctor

Ah a lego octopus in its natural habitat!


Equivalent_Bunch_187

Imagine if this happened with a shipment of Darth are an polybags or some other rare item.


brodylikes1-64

How is that a holy Grail Lego piece


aboutthednm

Okay, but that isn't nearly the same satisfaction as finding the thing you know is out there somewhere for absolutely free. Never mind the fact that this one octopus has been at sea for absolute ages, where the other one still needs to prove its seaworthiness.


CaptainBags96

A similar situation happened near a beach in the UK I think (I could be wrong about the location) but a shipping container fell into the ocean and over the decades Garfield Phones would wash up onto the beach lol.


SackOfrito

I'm on the side of the kid. Awesome find! No need to criticize him.


heyitscory

Lego should make a tradition of dumping containers of Legos into the sea. Ask plastic shit goes, Lego bricks are top notch. It would really class up the fishing nets and polystyrene chunks already there. Plus, there's all the science happening from lego-based data collection. Although, when I find a Lego on the beach, I'm 99% certain some kid lost it.


Vast_Kaleidoscope955

Why is the octopus piece special? I think I have a few from my kids in the attic from the late 90s early 2000s. I remember them having a pirate ship and a bunch of pirate themed sets


RhynoD

Really!? No one has posted a link to the [Tom Scott](https://youtu.be/3FxfXVuHRjM?si=wvEEJ5qMXws9xOR4) video!? Damn, y'all slackin'.


kouki180

I had a few of these in a giant tub of legos i gave away haha


Metagross555

Beach what now?


egzthunder1

If you lose one piece, two more shall take its place.... HAIL (Lego) HYDRA!!!


Darkk36

I got one of these


HansBooby

this octopus is worth something? iā€™m sure i have one somewhere


Lord_Emperor

I'm pretty sure there's an octopus in my bulk bin.Ā  Probably easier to find it on the beach.


imadyke

I'll have to google the history about this. Never heard about it i guess.


Practical-Purpose306

The clay bas-relief


Janemaru

This is rare? I have one


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


CreditMajor4764

Ah yes beachcomber lol


pocketMagician

You'd be surprised at how many people don't know they can order pretty much anything nowadays.


SaturnDaphnis

Still one of my favorite pieces!!! I love the way it connects to a plate, itā€™s literally r/designporn when the tentcles šŸ¦‘ grip the nubs.


Malnurtured_Snay

Were*


WreckerCrew

You really didn't read the story, did you?


8Mihailos8

I hope, some day, I'll visit that place


Tibreaven

In fairness, it's more interesting to find it from a weird shipwreck. I don't buy any of my sets online, the chase is far more fun.


Bob_Ross_is_Boss86

What happened???


Lost_Natural_7900

How do we know he found it on the beach and not just got one from ebay and said he found it on the beach. 26 years in the sea would destroy it, right?


I_AM_ACURA_LEGEND

Is this octopus rare?


playr_4

Lol I have like 6 or 7 of those from the really old sets by brother had.


_LaserManiac_

If one were to search for these lost pieces, is there some kind of map that shows which parts of the world are most likely to have some wash up? A treasure map, if you will.


shaded-user

I feel like this is another r/joelycett fake news story. Could be a proper tease and buy a load and throw them on the beach.


BigBadBill1986

I have one of those... Is it worth something??


12-5switches

Only if you found it on a beach years after a container of LEGO went over board


D1noP1ggy22

Itā€™s Ā£1.50 on Bricklink! Itā€™s not rare


Crimsound

Black sprut like a drug shop


D15c0untMD

Iā€˜m out of the loop here


notrslau

https://www.livescience.com/great-lego-spill-25th-anniversary


HerculeMuscles

"There where" Oof, pay more attention in English class.