Star Jelly
Nope, it’s not a band, it’s just one of the creepiest things I’ve ever heard of. And it falls from the sky.
The cold objectivity of Wikipedia describes Star Jelly as an “alleged compound purportedly deposited on the earth during meteor showers. It is described as a foul-smelling, gelatinous substance, which tends to evaporate shortly after having fallen.”
It’s been discussed in medical journals and defined in the Oxford Dictionary (as star slough, star shot, star slubber) since the 1350s, so clearly something’s been going on for a while. The British Book of Amphibians and Reptiles says that star jelly is actually just the glands of toads uneaten by birds (because they don’t like glands) and swollen from being in the sun. Hmmm, that’s not what that picture looks like to me.
There have been several reported incidents of Star Jelly since the 50s, but my favorite case happened in 1994, when it rained gelatinous stuff for several days in Oakville, Washington. This case was featured on Unsolved Mysteries, because after the rain fell, everyone in the town got weird flu-like symptoms. They tested the blobs and found that that they contained human white blood cells as well as a bacteria that is commonly found in the human digestive system.
The call is coming from inside the house!!!
Athena said,
January 25, 2010 at 1:37 pm
What if that’s really just airplane piss being dumped? After all, it’s got stuff commonly found in the digestive system along with white blood cells (usually found in urine after fighting infection). Initially, I thought it would have to be blue in color, but I’ve discovered that not all airlines use the blue stuff in their holding tanks. The ‘sanitizer/deodorizer’ also comes in green, purple, red/pink and – you guessed it – clear. Just a thought…
Athena said,
January 25, 2010 at 1:41 pm
Granted, that couldn’t have happened in the 1300s, but in 1994… I envision a jilted airline honcho ruining his former mistress’s hometown.
Yes, I have too much time on my hands.
Jo Bird said,
January 28, 2010 at 6:15 pm
Airplane piss.
Classy.
SlyM4trix said,
February 15, 2010 at 4:29 pm
The substance in your photo — the subject of that Unsolved Mysteries episode, is not the same thing as Star Jelly. Real star jelly (Astromyxin) is not foul smelling at all. It actually smells a little sweet when it’s fresh and is quite delicious.
joee bp said,
June 7, 2010 at 1:05 pm
this is not the space jelly this just sum peeled grapes because 1 if it was u wouldnt be touching it with your bare hands and 2 i can see the grape seeds
dasani said,
September 20, 2010 at 9:04 am
now i can believe that…
Richard said,
June 8, 2010 at 9:50 am
It can’t be airplanes because, airplanes freeze the piss and shit in a a sterile blue chemical so it would look like blue ice not clear jelly… Also they only dump or drop the blue ice when they are over bodies of water not over towns or house or even land because it could kill you if you were hit by a fly blue chunk of shit. Honestly if you are peeing out jelly go to the doctor.
Z said,
April 19, 2011 at 8:51 am
those are frog eggs. commonly mistaken for star jelly. you can see the tadpoles inside of them. frog eggs are often vomited up by birds in areas far from water.
Jim L said,
July 11, 2011 at 5:27 pm
We just found some star jelly in state of WA while on a hike. Had no idea what it was so am doing web research.
Ginger Laura said,
October 27, 2011 at 9:31 am
Errrr……….. the photo obviously shows spawn, probably deposited by a salamander………. did nobody ever do basic nature studies at school or did you all go straight to the National Enquirer?
Renae A said,
April 14, 2012 at 3:44 am
I saw it in Fredericton NB in the early 90′s. When I saw it come down It was the whitest white light – yet it didnt illuminate the building next to it and it fell slower than the snowflakes that were falling. It just disappeared when handled – melted into nothingness – no residue. It was weird.