Sept 28, 2009: Truck Spills

[Sundae]

There's a mostly accepted urban legend about the brood of chickens that inhabit the Hollywood Freeway in Los Angeles. Snopes are certainly willing to accept that a poultry truck overturned near the Vineland Avenue exit, and the survivors formed a permanent colony.

Not a truck spill, but along the same lines of cargo lost in transit, our most recent opportunity for looting came from the sea rather than the road, from the MSC Napoli:

After containers from the wreck began washing up at Branscombe [Devon, South West England], around two hundred people went onto the beach to scavenge the flotsam, despite warnings from the police that those failing to notify the Receiver of Wreck of goods salvaged risked fines. Scavenged goods include several BMW R1200RT motorcycles, empty wine casks, nappies, perfume, and car parts. After initially tolerating a "salvage" free-for-all, by 23 January the police had branded the activity of scavengers "despicable", closed the beach, and announced that they would use powers not used for 100 years to force people to return goods they had salvaged without informing the authorities, pointing out that under the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 such actions constituted an offence equivalent to theft.

Well, we don't really go for riots or hurricanes here, you've gotta take your chances when they occur! Think along the lines of Whisky Galore!

[jinx]

Or Doritos...

A cargo container that apparently fell from a ship washed up on the Outer Banks of North Carolina on Thursday and spilled thousands of bags of Doritos brand tortilla chips on the beach. People collected the chips, which were apparently still fresh due to their airtight packaging. It was unknown which ship had lost the cargo or to what port it was bound. Photo by Donna Barnett / special to The Virginian-Pilot