New Jersey locals wondered: what the heck?
When mysterious mounds of pasta appeared in a New Jersey forest, estimated at over 500 pounds, locals wondered: what the heck?
While we don’t have any official answers yet, we thought it would be fun to speculate on how exactly the pasta spawned overnight.
Here are the likely and unlikely explanations:
Pranksters: Someone may have thought it would be funny to scatter pasta throughout the woods, just to see the reaction it would get.
Art installation: Possibly, the pasta was left in the forest as part of an art installation where the artist decided to use pasta as a medium. Was it meant as social commentary? Is the USA al-dente enough?
Witchcraft: it’s witchcraft!
Potluck Gone Wrong: Perhaps a well-meaning volunteer accidentally… spilled the pasta while trying to transport it to the bake sale location?
Pastafarianism: Another possibility is that the pasta was left in the forest as a symbol of Pastafarianism, a satirical religious movement that claims a Flying Spaghetti Monster created the universe. Might they leave pasta as an offering to their deity?
Plant Care Misinformation: A less likely explanation is that someone left the pasta in the forest as a way to help plants grow. There is a common misconception that leftover pasta water is good for plants, and someone may have thought that leaving pasta in the forest would have a similar effect.
Illegal Dumping: It was likely illegally dumped there by a restaurant or food manufacturer, based on the fact that there are multiple shapes of pasta involved . If someone was looking to dispose of large amounts of expired pasta, they may have decided to dump it in a secluded forest area to avoid paying for proper disposal.
It's clear that someone went to a LOT of trouble to leave it there, and whether it was a harmless prank or a serious statement, the mystery of the pasta in the forest is sure to leave many people scratching their heads.