© Eisenhower State ParkA bunch of worms clumps together on a road at Eisenhower State Park in Denison, Texas after heavy rains in a photo released by park rangers on May 29, 2015.
Park rangers in Texas had thought someone left spaghetti in the middle of the road.
Instead, the piles in the middle of Eisenhower State Park were actually worms, Park Superintendent Ben Herman told ABC News today.
Rangers were checking the back roads of the park in Denison, Texas, found on May 29 when they found the piles lined up in a near-perfect straight line.
© Eisenhower State ParkBunches of worms clump together on a road at Eisenhower State Park in Denison, Texas after heavy rains in a photo released by park rangers on May 29, 2015.
"We're still puzzled why they decided to line up in the middle of the road," Herman said.
"Even our biologist doesn't know why they're spaced so well and in the line."Rangers decided to poke the piles with a stick to ensure that there were only worms in the spaghetti-looking clumps.
The worms stayed for two days before heading back into the soil and leaving behind their manure, Herman added.
© Eisenhower State ParkA photo released by Eisenhower State Park rangers on June 2, 2015 shows piles of worm manure left behind after the worms returned to the soil.
Park officials now have two theories to why the worms came out in herds. Herman said the first is the heavy rains saturated the ground so much that the water forced the worms onto the dryer parts of the pavement. The second theory is rain may sound like predators beating down on the ground to the worms, so they move and clump together to avoid them.
The piles were only found in the back part of the state park that was closed off to vehicles because of flooding. Herman noted that no other Texas state parks reported the same phenomenon.
© Eisenhower State ParkBunches of worms clump together on a road at Eisenhower State Park in Denison, Texas after heavy rains in a photo released by park rangers on May 29, 2015.
"We were all fascinated by what happened," he said. "It was pretty entertaining to watch the worms do their thing."
Eisenhower State Park covers more than 450 acres of land about an hour from the Oklahoma state border.
Less unlikely cause: Fisherman Dumpage?
Their 'official' best guess . . . flooding caused them to seek the highest part of the road (the center, to allow for drainage, etc. That doesn't really explain the clumpage, the dirt they carried? (with what? their non-existent hands? No: how about in baskets? . . . carried . . .in their teeth? No... Mouths? Unlikely, also.) Etc. etc
How about a driver who had been or was going fishing. In the former case, he had no further use of the worms he bought, slowed down, opened his door, and dumped them as they came out of the worm box, throwing several clumps out as he left. [In my youth, they would come in a box like chinese food with what looked like potting soil - which these pictures also look like.] (A critical question: how does the roadside soil differ from or is similar to what is pictured? I doubt iit as I would guess (i.e., I don't know), that the soil on the sides of the road there would be far more sandy than that.)
Also note that just as the creation of laws penalizing having empty alchlholic beverage containers in one's car, how the amount of beer can litter has gone up at least tenfold. Similarly, perhaps it was out of season, and (consistent with the US's overpunishment of all things - which feeds the Law Creation/Enforcement/Punishment Complex) I would not be surprised if possession of worms out of season, etc., is an offense punishable by having one's car siezed, and 6 months, etc. Hence, the smart fisherman would dump the worms.
Indeed, this too may have been the most likely explanation to the Game Agents involved - but if they pointed it out, they would have had to go into the anti-freedom details. . .
For what it's worth.
R.C.