Internet Culture

Mysterious, giant blob of foam consumes Santa Clara street as internet looks on

Police didn’t know what caused the immense foam eruption.

Photo of Jay Hathaway

Jay Hathaway

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An unidentified mass of white foam flowed over an entire street in Santa Clara, California, Friday, reaching 10 feet and entirely submerging cars. Police on the scene didn’t know what caused the foam eruption, but some guy definitely rode his bike through it. The internet looked on, bemused, via Facebook Live, as the blob continued to grow.

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The man who rode his bike through the mess told local Fox station KTVU that police on the scene had encouraged him to go for it. He found the foam was too deep to stand in, and also managed to ride into a sign hidden beneath the frothy substance. He said it felt like soap.

Afterward, police blocked the area to keep anyone else from embracing the foam.

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https://twitter.com/alyssabereznak/status/799722394613125122

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KTVU reported that the white substance appeared to be some kind of fire retardant, and may have leaked from a building on Martin Avenue during a test of fire systems. Apparently, the fire systems work.

But what does the foam mean? Is it a sign of a rapidly dissolving reality that no longer makes sense? 

https://twitter.com/ellenhuet/status/799721799189610496

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https://twitter.com/4evrmalone/status/799719910075207680

https://twitter.com/KenLayne/status/799739830892511233


Or is it beautiful, the way trash floating on the wind is beautiful?

https://twitter.com/alyssabereznak/status/799725454366277632

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Opinions seem to differ on whether letting an unknown white foam blob swallow your entire body is bad or is, in fact, extremely good. I’d say it appears to be a tossup at this point.

Update 4:24pm CT, Nov. 18: Welp, looks like the foam is a carcinogenic fire retardant. A malfunction inside a hangar at the San Jose airport is the culprit. Signature Flight Support owns the hangar, which is brand spankin’ new and now flooded with skin-irritating foam.

 
The Daily Dot