mysteries

Why Do Severed Human Feet Keep Washing Ashore in Canada?

British Columbia. Photo: Zachary Borkovic/EyeEm/Getty Images

If the world has somehow left you insufficiently horrified, may we present A New Thing to Worry About: severed human feet just keep washing ashore in Canada. (Yeah! We know!)

The New York Times reports that 13 have been found in the British Columbia area since 2007.* The latest discovery was on Thursday, when a dog named Taz spotted a foot in a black running shoe with some leg bones still attached.

Authorities don’t think anything nefarious is happening in this otherwise extremely nefarious-sounding story. Per the Times, they’ve “identified eight of the 12 feet as belonging to six people, and none died by foul play.” High tides and strong currents just bring these floating remains with them.

Now, if you’re wondering how locals are reacting, the answer is: almost too chill. Take café owner Joshua Constandinou, who said, “At the beginning, it seemed more strange, but now it happens so many times.” Eh?

*This post has been corrected to show that the feet have been washing ashore since 2007. The original version incorrectly stated it was 2017.

Why Do Severed Human Feet Keep Washing Ashore in Canada?