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Why Did Garfield Phones Keep Washing Up On French Beaches For 30 Years?
The coast of France experienced a very odd phenomenon for decades before the mystery was finally solved
The cartoon cat Garfield is one of the more popular figures in popular culture. All manner of items contain his instantly recognizable image, including at one time landline telephones. For more than 30 years, mysteriously starting in the mid-1980s, a section of beach in northwest France regularly had Garfield phones washing up on their shores until a cause was finally identified.
The creation of cartoonist Jim Davis, Garfield made his first appearance in 1978. The tubby orange tabby quickly appealed to a wide audience given his laziness, hatred of Mondays and love of eating, especially lasagna. Calling the fictional feline successful would be an understatement, as his likeness reaps $750 million to $1 billion annually in sales.
It’s quite accurate to say that Garfield merchandise is found everywhere. Meagan Flynn of the Washington Post reported that starting in the mid-1980s, the same stretch of the Iroise Brittany coast in northwest France kept having bits and pieces of Garfield phones washed up. These were part of a popular line of novelty phones that sold quite well during the decade. Although these…
