Following the slabs of human shit exhibited by artist Santiago Sierra at the Lisson Gallery, bodily waste seems to be cropping up in unusual places with distressing (pardon the pun) regularity. Now we hear that a shed in Sutton has been obliterated by a block of ice that fell from a passing airplane's leaky toilet.
Lloyd Gater and his partner were sitting at the kitchen table, when they heard an almighty crash outside. Rushing to the garden, they found their shed had been destroyed by an object fallen from the sky. Ice was scattered all around the splintered remains of the shed, and a path could be seen through the surrounding trees showing the trajectory of the block (oddly described in the news article as "the size of a potable TV"). Reports of a man in a fearsome-looking rabbit costume sneaking from the scene were quickly dismissed as the "wild-eyed stories of a delusional Londonista".
The Civil Aviation Authority, striving to appear that they know what's going on, said it would be impossible to tell from which passing jet the block fell. They did however confirm that around 35 reports of falling ice are received each year, normally in the form of a "poodlebug". Essentially the aviation equivalent of a dingleberry, the poodlebug is a "football-sized lump of frozen effluent that drops from fuselages when planes descend into warmer air". So now you know.
Poodlebug is also a wonderful word that Londonist will strive to introduce into its daily lexicon. Just typing it out brings joy, so imagine the fun that can be had throwing it casually into everyday conversation
Image of passing plane from nualabugeye's Flickrstream
