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What to know when your car is melted by 7,500 pounds of slime eels

42 points by xbmcuser 9y ago

kileywm 9y ago
A truck, carrying live Pacific hagfish, spilled the cargo in a 5-car collision. Hagfish produce slime to escape danger, and thus slimed the cars onto which they landed. There was no melting involved.
- wyldfire 9y ago
  Thanks for the clarification, I read the article expecting to find something about corrosive properties of the slime but couldn't understand why it wasn't even mentioned. A bit frustrating that they used the word "melting". s/melting by/covered with/
  - digi_owl 9y ago
    Its Verge, it comes with the territory.
  - tyingq 9y ago
    Maybe it was supposed to be "melded with"? It's apparently hard to remove.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- Jemmeh 9y ago
  To be fair the car "looks" melted, but unsure if that's just from the weight of the fish or if they have something in the slime that did it.
api 9y ago
So wait... Your hovercraft actually can get full of eels? Whoa!
midgetjones 9y ago
"Anti-shark spray" has got to be a Batman reference, hasn't it? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yn-ZXgXQeGY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yn-ZXgXQeGY
- sosborn 9y ago
  https://www.sharktecdefense.com/products/instant-release-shark-repellent-spray https://www.sharktecdefense.com/products/instant-release-sha...
diabeetusman 9y ago
I don't think the article ever really answers the question that it posed in the subtitle: does insurance cover hagfish slime? Invoking Betteridge's law of headlines, I'm guessing not?
- js2 9y ago
  It should be covered by comprehensive coverage, but probably not by collision.
  - protomyth 9y ago
    Depending on the state, the truck owner's insurance is going to be paying. It falls under the same laws for construction vehicles hauling dirt that drop a rock on your windshield.
- yk 9y ago
  From the linked FAQ: Do you think my insurance will cover me? This may technically count as an Act of Cod. So apparently not, but if your car is destroyed in a collision with a truck and then covered in slime, it may be possible to argue that it was a normal accident and the car was destroyed before the hagfish attacked. http://www.southernfriedscience.com/your-car-has-just-been-crushed-by-hagfish-frequently-asked-questions/ http://www.southernfriedscience.com/your-car-has-just-been-c...
js2 9y ago
The FAQ linked to from the verge is a much better source: http://www.southernfriedscience.com/your-car-has-just-been-crushed-by-hagfish-frequently-asked-questions/ http://www.southernfriedscience.com/your-car-has-just-been-c...
xbmcuser 9y ago
Well this is embarrassing I was actually posting it to Reddit pressed the wrong app
- sosuke 9y ago
  Looks like an unexpected success then. You've got everyone talking about melting, melded, slimed and how they would correct the title or article.
euparkeria 9y ago
Melt also means "covered in slime or liquid"? English is not my first language.
- epmatsw 9y ago
  Not that I've ever heard. This is just a weird headline.
- inopinatus 9y ago
  Not generally, no, although I am reminded of a style of melted-cheese-coated sandwiches called "melts".
  - orclev 9y ago
    In that context it's the cheese that's being melted, not the sandwich. Melting implies some kind of state change from solid to liquid (or semi-liquid), which is in fact the case in a melt sandwich where the cheese is melting. In this case the slime was already in a liquid state so there's no change taking place and it would therefore be incorrect to refer to it as melting. It DOES look kind of like the car was melted because of the accident damage combined with being covered in slime, which is I guess what the title is alluding to.
    - inopinatus 9y ago
      Nothing is so small that Hacker News cannot overthink it, not even a cheese sandwich.
- pkamb 9y ago
  The crashed car in the picture looks like it was melted by slime.
glennsl 9y ago
Non-AMP link: https://www.theverge.com/2017/7/14/15969674/slime-eels-hagfish-oregon-highway-truck-accident-slime-mucus-goo https://www.theverge.com/2017/7/14/15969674/slime-eels-hagfi...
petraeus 9y ago
Headline is typical Verge clickbait
danans 9y ago
> And it turns out, the eel-like creatures are not, in fact, eels. They’re Pacific hagfish — primitive jawless fish >It’s the main defense mechanism for the toothy, bottom-feeding invertebrates AFAIK, They can't be invertebrates if they are a type of fish. EDIT: It appears they are certainly Chordates, but is some controversy over which sub-branch of Chordates they actually belong to. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnatha https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnatha https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclostomata https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclostomata
- kkylin 9y ago
  The statement is not as non-sensical as it sounds. Hagfish are actually quite interesting evolutionarily. See e.g. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hagfish https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hagfish .
- reitanqild 9y ago
  Article has an update as well: Correction: This story initially identified hagfish as invertebrates because they don’t have vertebrae. Verge commenter bennyfactor pointed out that hagfish are in fact considered “odd” or “degenerate” vertebrates. He’s correct, and the story has been updated.
fenwick67 9y ago
The video of them squirming around on the ground in the goop is nightmare fuel

42 points by xbmcuser 9y ago

A truck, carrying live Pacific hagfish, spilled the cargo in a 5-car collision. Hagfish produce slime to escape danger, and thus slimed the cars onto which they landed. There was no melting involved.

wyldfire 9y ago
Thanks for the clarification, I read the article expecting to find something about corrosive properties of the slime but couldn't understand why it wasn't even mentioned. A bit frustrating that they used the word "melting". s/melting by/covered with/
- digi_owl 9y ago
  Its Verge, it comes with the territory.
- tyingq 9y ago
  Maybe it was supposed to be "melded with"? It's apparently hard to remove.
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
Jemmeh 9y ago
To be fair the car "looks" melted, but unsure if that's just from the weight of the fish or if they have something in the slime that did it.

api 9y ago

So wait... Your hovercraft actually can get full of eels? Whoa!

midgetjones 9y ago

"Anti-shark spray" has got to be a Batman reference, hasn't it? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yn-ZXgXQeGY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yn-ZXgXQeGY

sosborn 9y ago
https://www.sharktecdefense.com/products/instant-release-shark-repellent-spray https://www.sharktecdefense.com/products/instant-release-sha...

diabeetusman 9y ago

I don't think the article ever really answers the question that it posed in the subtitle: does insurance cover hagfish slime? Invoking Betteridge's law of headlines, I'm guessing not?

js2 9y ago
It should be covered by comprehensive coverage, but probably not by collision.
- protomyth 9y ago
  Depending on the state, the truck owner's insurance is going to be paying. It falls under the same laws for construction vehicles hauling dirt that drop a rock on your windshield.
yk 9y ago
From the linked FAQ: Do you think my insurance will cover me? This may technically count as an Act of Cod. So apparently not, but if your car is destroyed in a collision with a truck and then covered in slime, it may be possible to argue that it was a normal accident and the car was destroyed before the hagfish attacked. http://www.southernfriedscience.com/your-car-has-just-been-crushed-by-hagfish-frequently-asked-questions/ http://www.southernfriedscience.com/your-car-has-just-been-c...

js2 9y ago

The FAQ linked to from the verge is a much better source: http://www.southernfriedscience.com/your-car-has-just-been-crushed-by-hagfish-frequently-asked-questions/ http://www.southernfriedscience.com/your-car-has-just-been-c...

xbmcuser 9y ago

Well this is embarrassing I was actually posting it to Reddit pressed the wrong app

sosuke 9y ago
Looks like an unexpected success then. You've got everyone talking about melting, melded, slimed and how they would correct the title or article.

euparkeria 9y ago

Melt also means "covered in slime or liquid"? English is not my first language.

epmatsw 9y ago
Not that I've ever heard. This is just a weird headline.
inopinatus 9y ago
Not generally, no, although I am reminded of a style of melted-cheese-coated sandwiches called "melts".
- orclev 9y ago
  In that context it's the cheese that's being melted, not the sandwich. Melting implies some kind of state change from solid to liquid (or semi-liquid), which is in fact the case in a melt sandwich where the cheese is melting. In this case the slime was already in a liquid state so there's no change taking place and it would therefore be incorrect to refer to it as melting. It DOES look kind of like the car was melted because of the accident damage combined with being covered in slime, which is I guess what the title is alluding to.
  - inopinatus 9y ago
    Nothing is so small that Hacker News cannot overthink it, not even a cheese sandwich.
pkamb 9y ago
The crashed car in the picture looks like it was melted by slime.

glennsl 9y ago

Non-AMP link: https://www.theverge.com/2017/7/14/15969674/slime-eels-hagfish-oregon-highway-truck-accident-slime-mucus-goo https://www.theverge.com/2017/7/14/15969674/slime-eels-hagfi...

petraeus 9y ago

Headline is typical Verge clickbait

danans 9y ago

> And it turns out, the eel-like creatures are not, in fact, eels. They’re Pacific hagfish — primitive jawless fish >It’s the main defense mechanism for the toothy, bottom-feeding invertebrates AFAIK, They can't be invertebrates if they are a type of fish. EDIT: It appears they are certainly Chordates, but is some controversy over which sub-branch of Chordates they actually belong to. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnatha https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnatha https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclostomata https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclostomata

kkylin 9y ago
The statement is not as non-sensical as it sounds. Hagfish are actually quite interesting evolutionarily. See e.g. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hagfish https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hagfish .
reitanqild 9y ago
Article has an update as well: Correction: This story initially identified hagfish as invertebrates because they don’t have vertebrae. Verge commenter bennyfactor pointed out that hagfish are in fact considered “odd” or “degenerate” vertebrates. He’s correct, and the story has been updated.

fenwick67 9y ago

The video of them squirming around on the ground in the goop is nightmare fuel