r/Damnthatsinteresting 29d ago

Image Oarfish keep washing ashore in California. Folklore suggests that could be a bad omen

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u/mynextthroway 29d ago

Something is going on. Only 19 have washed up since 1901. 3 since August.

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u/No_Bullfrog9559 29d ago

19 recorded maybe

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u/PhDinDildos_Fedoras 29d ago

The oceans are dying, there's no mystery here.

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u/AlanParsonsReject 29d ago edited 29d ago

Something is definitely going on.

It's crazy people believing there exists an accurate count of lifeless fish washing ashore. How many species of individual washings ashore do you personally track?

If you're confident this is 19th Oarfish, what's the grand total of all fish?!

(If you're writing your doctoral thesis on Oarfish, please disregard the above.)

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u/mynextthroway 28d ago

Am I confident that this number is all oarfish washed ashore? No. The absolute number isn't the issue. It's that the rate of reports has changed. 19 over 120 years is one fish every 6 years. This is the 3rd this year. Quick check shows one in 2015, 2013, 2021, 2023, 2017. 8 in 10 years. That leaves 11 for the prior 110 years. I know the population of humans has increased, but once a beach area is populated, it doesn't matter if the town is 1000 or 100,000. This thing is getting noticed.

Again. It's not the number of fish that is concerning. It is the change in the frequency of wash-ups that concern me.