Sadly, there are no Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on this list. But there is plenty of other wildlife – like the 600lb alligator found in a Texas drain in 2006. The live sheep found wandering in a Surrey sewer… or the cow heard mooing under a manhole cover after going missing for 4 days in China. Snakes are also a common inhabitant of drainage systems around the world. Careful when you lift the toilet lid!
Sadly, there have been cases of babies found alive in storm drains. And in Las Vegas there’s a whole community of homeless people that risk their lives sharing the storm drain tunnels with scorpions and floodwaters.
Other weird and wonderful items found in sewers include scissors, a dog bowl, toy cars, screwdrivers, false teeth, and car keys.
Most sewage workers walk when inspecting their underground systems – but some alternative forms of transport they have found down there include bicycles, a motocross bike and even half a Mini!
And the old saying “where there’s muck there’s money” could be true. Two Rolex watches worth Thousands of pounds were found in a drain in London. And the sludge in sewers could contain many precious metals, especially in areas with intensive jewellery manufacturing, where tiny flakes of gold get accidently washed away. There are probably also countless rings, bracelets and earrings that people have lost.
Bizarrely, in Newcastle in 2017, some people even attended a rave in a filthy storm drain system, until the police arrived with a stern warning about the dangers of becoming trapped in easily-flooded tunnels.
And of course becoming increasingly common are fatbergs – congealed grease and fat clogged up with baby wipes and other items that don’t decay. These can reach several tonnes in weight – one in London reached an incredible 250 metres in length.
It’s a reminder to be really careful about what goes down the toilets, sinks and drains in your house!