7 questions on weird beach discoveries
A giant fish rarely seen in the North Sea has washed up on a Norfolk beach. The sunfish was found at Overstrand. Test yourself on other strange things washed up on beaches.
1.) Multiple Choice Question
As an April Fool's joke what did the RSPB report in 2010 had been washed up on the Isle of Mull?
- A polar bear
- A dodo
2.) Multiple Choice Question
Eight-year-old Charlie Naysmith discovered a rare piece of sperm whale ambergris on a Dorset beach in August this year. What can it be used for?
- As an aphrodisiac
- To make perfume
- To make fire-extinguishing foam
3.) Missing Word Question
Giant * washed up on beach
- Lego man
- Barbie doll
- teddy bear
4.) Multiple Choice Question
Last year an estimated 40,000 dead velvet crabs were washed up along the Kent coast. What are they more commonly known as?
- Devil crabs
- Ugly crabs
- Laughing crabs
5.) Multiple Choice Question
A giant, grapefruit-sized blue eyeball washed up on a US beach in October this year. What marine creature do experts think it is from?
- Sperm whale
- Giant squid
6.) Multiple Choice Question
Scavengers descended on a Devon beach in 2007 when a ship was beached off the coast in stormy weather, spilling its contents. What beach was it?
- Babbacombe Bay
7.) Multiple Choice Question
A dead Cuvier's beaked whale was washed up on a beach in the Isle of Mull in 2008. It died after eating 23 what?
- Carrier bags
- It's a polar bear, which it said was still alive.
- The 600g (1lb 5oz) lump of vomit - known as ambergris - is still used to make perfume, although a synthetic version is now widely used instead as the sperm whale is a vulnerable species. The lump was estimated to be worth £40,000. A protein called keratin, extracted from cow hooves, is used to make a special fire extinguishing foam.
- It was Lego man. Standing 8ft (2.44m) tall, it was found on a Florida beach in October 2011. It is still not known where it came from. Legoland in Florida said it was a counterfeit and nothing to do with them.
- It's devil crabs - Britain's largest swimming crabs. It is thought colder than average sea temperatures caused the deaths.
- A large swordfish. The eyeball washed up on Pompano Beach in Florida.
- It's Branscombe. The cargo included motorcycles, barrels of wine, steering wheels, shoes and hair products. Scavengers travelled hundreds of miles to take the goods washed ashore. Babbacombe Bay is also in Devon and Boscombe is in Dorset.
- It's carrier bags. Marine experts say whales often mistake plastic bags for squid.
0 - 3 : All washed up
4 - 6 : Flailing
7 - 7 : Going swimmingly
For past quizzes including our weekly news quiz, 7 days 7 questions, expand the grey drop-down below - also available on the Magazine page (and scroll down).