Lost Lego
In 1997 a giant wave swept 4.8 million Lego pieces into waters off the coast of Cornwall. A quarter of a century later, the tiny plastic toys are still washing up on England's southwestern shores. According to Smithsonian, the Great Lego Spill is considered the worst-ever toy-related
environmental catastrophe. It occurred when a cargo ship named Tokio Express was transporting goods from Rotterdam in the Netherlands to New York. A 28ft wave toppled 62 shipping containers off the vessel, dumping Lego sets that, in a strange twist, were largely nautical-themed. Beachcombers continue to find miniature flippers, harpoons and octopuses in the sand to this day. Roughly 3.2 million of the lost Lego pieces are light enough to float, which means the other 1.6 million have likely ended up on the seabed. They are destined to stay there for a while; according to a 2020 study, it will take 1300 years for the Lego pieces lost at sea to fully break down.
Modern collective nouns
A tuxedo of penguins (for their striking colouration).
A bask of crocodiles (for their sunning habits).
A destruction of cats (no explanation necessary).
A troop of baboons (but a barrel of monkeys and a band of gorillas).
A tower of giraffes.
A parliament of owls.
A cackle of hyenas.
A smack of jellyfish.
An ambush of tigers.
A wisdom of wombats.
Expert-level hide and seek
