Macaroni mystery! Hundreds of pounds of cooked pasta discovered in N.J. woods
"It was pasta expiration date," one Reddit user wrote, poking fun at the mysterious pasta ordeal
Uh-oh! Spaghetti-O!
Residents of a New Jersey town were left confused last week after hundreds of pounds of cooked pasta noodles mysteriously appeared along a creek bed in a wooded area.
Nina Jochnowitz, a community leader, estimated in a Facebook post that there had to be more than 500 pounds of pasta dumped by the stream in Old Bridge — which she tells PEOPLE "would be in better shape if the present administration, which has refused bulk garbage collection, would have it."
She shared images of the dumped pasta were online. Noodles ranged from elbow macaroni to spaghetti.
Soon after her post, and after she reported the ordeal to the town, Jochnowitz detailed that the area's Public Works cleared the pasta from the area.
Related:Get the Recipe for a Pasta Alla Norma Inspired by The White Lotus
"The township heard or read the comments and responded by doing a rapid cleanup the river basin and pasta dump. As my friend called it a 'Mission Impasteable!!!' " Jochnowitz wrote on Facebook. "They also cleaned out all the garbage tossed in the basin. Thank you Kasey and the entire crew of Public Works!"
"You might say, 'Who cares about pasta?' But pasta has a PH level that will impact the water stream," she told the PhiladelphiaInquirer. "That water stream is important to clean up because it feeds into the town's water supply. … It was one of the fastest cleanups I've ever seen here."
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Though the pasta was removed, the internet is forever and Jochnowitz's post has already garnered hilarious takes from social media users who questioned how the food got there in the first place.
"Is it possible that someone might have just tripped and their pocket spaghetti fell out?" one user wrote on Reddit, as another said, "It was pasta expiration date."
One other poked fun at the ordeal with another pun, writing, "We should send the perpetrators to the state penne tentiary."
Another user suggested that the mess could be the fault of Strega Nona — the subject of the children's book written and illustrated by Tomie dePaola — and her helper, Big Anthony, who causes her magic pasta pot to create an overabundance of pasta that nearly floods an entire town.
"No, it's clearly Big Anthony. Strega Nona would NEVER let pasta go to waste like that," one person commented in response.
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