The recent news of a beached killer whale in Florida had us thinking about what other unusual things have been uncovered on Florida's beaches and as it turns out, the answer is kind of a lot! So, prepare to break out the metal detectors, water shoes and sand sifters because after you read this article about weird things recently found on Florida beaches you're going to be either rushing to--or from--the Florida coastlines.
1700s Spanish Coins
Let's be honest, we will never fully let go of our childhood dream that the next time we go to a beach we will walk away with a pirate's long lost treasure; usually, though, we're happy if we even find just a sand dollar. What if, though, all hope is not lost and there is still treasure out there waiting to be found?
That's exactly what happened for one man in the spring of 2020. According to several news articles, the man was using a metal detector along Florida's Indian River Shore, only to have it alert him to what he probably thought would be rusty cans below his feet. Turns out, he dug up a few silver Spanish coins from an old shipwreck dating back to the early 1700s. What was once worth only pennies is now worth an estimated $6,000!
A human foot... still in the shoe
Back in 2014 a severed human foot was discovered inside a shoe at Peck Lake Beach in Jupiter, Florida. Reports concluded that the foot appeared to be naturally detached, and further investigation revealed that the foot belonged to a missing 64-year-old local boater. The story gets weirder, but we'll leave that for another day.
Blue Dragons
Though native to the Atlantic Coast, these brightly colored miniscule sea slugs aren't something you often see swimming along side you at the beach, let alone washed up on shore--and that's probably a good thing. Small as they might be, these "blue dragons" are venomous little critters that love to feast on Portuguese man o' wars.
As stated above, sightings are rare, but in 2018 several of these terrifyingly beautiful nudibranchs were washing up along the state's Atlantic coastline.
Megalodon teeth
Once upon a time, apex predators that would make our current great whites shudder in fear used to patrol our oceans--and we are still finding proof of that today. People dig up prehistoric shark teeth often in Florida, but finding a fossilized megalodon tooth as big as your hand is like finding a needle in a haystack.
One man got super lucky in his quest to find such teeth of monstrous proportions when he uncovered not one, but two in the span of a few weeks in July 2021. The bigger of the two teeth measured in around 4 inches!
New whale species
As large as they may be, some species of whales have successfully managed to go undetected until recently, including the incredibly rare endangered species now called Rice’s whale.
After a few years of debate and one exhumed whale body later, it was finally announced in 2021 that the 2019 dead whale that washed up in the Everglades was indeed a new species.
Cocaine, lots and lots of cocaine
Though it's not to say that they don't try, it's really no secret that the drug cartels have a habit of using the ocean as a way to transport "the goods" into the States--but sometimes the product gets scooped up (or lost) before they reach their intended destination.
In one of the many, many examples, a few years ago, over 1 million dollars worth (roughly 30kg) of the powdery substance was found on a central Florida beach during a turtle nesting survey.
Message in a bottle
In what seemed like a once-in-a-lifetime wish-come-true tale turned out to be a too-good-to-be-true joke when in 2021 a man thought he discovered a message in a bottle dating back to 1987. The bottle was found in Marathon, Florida, however, after making headlines and gaining virality on the internet it was later uncovered that the bottle founder's son was just playing a prank.
For what it's worth, the message, dated for May 16, 1987 read, "Dear person who finds this I want you to try to return it to me my name is Zack Williams and if I'm dead by the time you try to return the just keep it I put it in the ocean at Myrtle Beach SC."[sic]
Which of these Florida beach discoveries did you find most interesting? Let us know in the comments below!
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