Adrift
The Curious Tale of the Lego Lost at Sea
Published on 1. February 2022
Book
Hardback
144 pages
978-1-913491-19-2 (ISBN)
Description
In 1997 sixty-two containers fell off the cargo ship Tokio Express after it was hit by a rogue wave off the coast of Cornwall, including one container filled with nearly five million pieces of Lego, much of it sea themed. In the months that followed, beachcombers started to find Lego washed up on beaches across the south west coast. Among the pieces they discovered were octopuses, sea grass, spear guns, life rafts, scuba tanks, cutlasses, flippers and dragons. The pieces are still washing up today.
Reviews / Votes
I thoroughly recommend this book to maritime historians, archaeologists and scientists as a provocative and unusual reminder that the story of humans and the sea is not all about the things that were built for the sea, even if they were shaped into lifejackets and spearguns. -- Mick de Ruyter * The Great Circle *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Illustrations
100 Illustrations, color
Dimensions
Height: 204 mm
Width: 153 mm
Thickness: 26 mm
Weight
566 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-913491-19-2 (9781913491192)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Writer and beachcomber Tracey Williams has always been intrigued by chance finds and the stories and folklore behind them, from shells and sea glass discovered on childhood holidays in Cornwall to flints and fossils unearthed in fields. In 1997, after finding thousands of pieces of sea-themed Lego washed up on beaches in South Devon, she became interested in the changing nature of beach combing and began to research the age and origin of many of the man made items she discovered. Her plastic finds have since been described as 'a colourful catalogue of our times'. She lives in Cornwall in an old house by the sea with her dog Jess, surrounded by piles of books and an ever-growing mound of beach finds.