THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, September 17, 1996 TAG: 9609170410
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B7 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: METRO BRIEFS
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 20 lines
Foul-smelling grayish blobs that recently have washed up on the beach west of the Lesner Bridge and at the south end of the resort strip are probably fig sponges, according to the Virginia Marine Science Museum.
``They are no danger to anyone,'' said museum spokeswoman Alice Scanlan.
The smooth, grayish creatures that were brought into the museum over the weekend for identification were about 6 inches long and 1 inch thick and smelled awful because they were decomposing, she said.
``They look like large baked potatoes or alien space pods,'' said Brenda Unser, who found them Sunday morning littering the beach at 15th Street.
Wayne Creef with the city's beach maintenance operations said Monday that city crews will clean the beaches at low tide early this morning. by CNB