A strange precipitation
On August 7, 1994, at approximately 3:00 AM, a strange rain began to fall over Oakville, Washington. Police officer David Lacey, on patrol, turned on his wipers but found they only smeared the substance across his windshield. What fell from the sky was not water, but thousands of tiny, translucent gelatinous blobs, each about the size of a grain of rice. This bizarre precipitation event was the first of six that occurred over a three-week period, blanketing a 20-square-mile area around the town.
Residents who encountered the material reported a cascade of unusual and severe health problems. Officer Lacey experienced fatigue and nausea. Another resident, Dotty Hearn, was hospitalized for three days with dizziness and an ear infection after touching the substance. Dozens of people reported flu-like symptoms, including vertigo, respiratory issues, and severe intestinal distress, with illnesses lasting from several weeks to three months. Local animals were also affected; some reports claimed that several cats and dogs died after coming into contact with the blobs. One resident found a dead frog and a raven just feet away from a sample she collected.
Conflicting analyses and open questions
Concerned residents sent samples of the goo for analysis. A local hospital lab technician initially claimed the blobs contained human white blood cells. This finding prompted the Washington State Department of Ecology to conduct its own tests. Their analysis, by scientist Mike Osweiler, confirmed the substance was biological and contained cells of various sizes. These cells had no nuclei, which contradicted the initial claim, as human white blood cells do have them.
A microbiologist at the Washington State Department of Health, Mike McDowell, performed another analysis. He identified two species of bacteria: Pseudomonas fluorescens and Enterobacter cloacae. Enterobacter cloacae is commonly found in the human digestive system and can cause infections in people with compromised immune systems. Before more tests could be run, the remaining samples from the state health department mysteriously disappeared, making further study impossible.
Several theories attempted to explain the origin of the blobs. One idea suggested the material was waste jettisoned from a commercial airplane. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) dismissed this, noting that lavatory waste is treated with a blue chemical, and the blobs were clear. Another theory pointed to U.S. Air Force bombing exercises conducted by the 354th Fighter Squadron about 50 miles off the coast. This hypothesis suggests the military may have blown apart a school of jellyfish, whose remains were then carried into the atmosphere and rained down on Oakville. No direct evidence supports this sequence of events. The source of the Oakville Blobs remains officially unidentified.