The Lego Spill of 1997 by Luke Schlarman

In 1997 over 5 million legos spilled into the Atlantic Ocean.

lukeschl95 — 2014-05-22 13:28:47 UTC

The legos were being shipped from England to New York. When they were 20 miles off the coast of England a large wave tipped the ship and many cargo containers were thrown overboard. The legos in the Ocean were affected by the North Atlantic Drift, The Oyashio Current, and the California Current. Many thousands of legos have been found on the coasts of England, and California

Facts about the spill

lukeschl95 — 2014-05-22 13:42:45 UTC

1. There were over 5 million legos that spilled into the ocean.

2. Ironically, most of the legos were sea creatures, life jackets, rafts and flippers.

3. In total, 62 cargo boxes were lost, which also spilled many things besides legos.

4. There is over 3 million pieces still floating in the ocean.

lukeschl95 — 2014-05-23 00:32:32 UTC

This is a map of the currents that can affect the lego pieces drifting around the world.

lukeschl95 — 2014-05-23 00:32:50 UTC

This picture shows nearly 1,000 lego pieces, now imagine 5 million!