Something Strange is Afoot: The Salish Sea Feet Mysteries | Rainy Day Rabbit Holes

0:00 [Music] Welcome to Rainy Day Rabbit Holes, a uniquely Pacific Northwest podcast. I'm Shea, I'm Jody, and on each episode we will be sharing the mysterious, quirky, and fascinating stories of PNW. So grab your North Face jacket, strap on your TV as grab yourself a cup of Northwest roasted coffee and let's fall down the rabbit hole.

0:48 Jody, what would you do if you found a human foot on the beach? Be paralyzed with fear. And then go in action. Have I got a story for you? The Pacific Northwest never fails to deliver on weirdness. We've got a ton of serial killers, cults, and now disembodied feet on the beach. It's creepy, it is. And on today's episode, we're going to talk about the Salish Sea Human Foot Discoveries. Okay, Jody, you ready to get into some weird stuff? Oh, I love weird stuff. This is why we got started on this.

1:29 I know. I know. I know. Right here. Weird stuff. Weird stuff. Okay. Our story takes us up North to our much nicer neighbors in Vancouver, British Columbia. Much nicer neighbors. That's Canada. Yeah, they are very much known for their niceness. So on the shores of False Creek Bay, not far from Grandville Island, is a cobblestone shopping plaza with a giant anvil art installation. So you know an anvil, something that you would hit a hammer on. It's giant. It's like 20 feet tall. It's huge. Well, who's running that show? Well, it's a run of that anvil.

2:11 It's an art installation. Oh, okay. It just sits there. Here, you can sit and enjoy views of Vancouver Skyline. Or admire the many sailboats in the Marina, the name of the shopping plaza. Get this. Leg in boot square. Leg in boot square. Leg hyphen in hyphen boot square. I feel like somebody made the name up one day when they were trying to remind themself what they were supposed to do in the morning. I got to put my leg in the boot. I got to put my leg in the boot. I'm making a note of that. Everywhere on first square. And now it's the name, which makes you wonder how it came to be named leg in boot square.

2:58 Okay. I have a feeling based on our intro. It's not about putting one leg in at a time. Nope. It's not like putting your pants on one leg at a time. It's not about putting one boot on at a time. I have a feeling that's a whole different story. It is. So here's the story. In the summer of 1886, our favorite time period. I had no idea we go back this far. Oh my gosh. Well, we started this journey. Hey, for those that don't know, Shane, I don't tell each other our rabbit holes. So literally what she is bringing to me, I am hearing for the first time. Yeah. I had no, I knew this story was coming. I had no idea. I went back that far. Well, and we do seem to hang out a lot in the late 1800s in our podcast, don't we?

3:40 We did the Chinatown. We did the beginning of the immigrants here in the Pacific North. Yes, we really like we like that old history. We like that night. Or excuse me, 1880s time. OK. So in the summer of 1886, not long after the Great Fire that destroyed much of Vancouver, a half of a human leg washed up on the shore of false creek, still wearing a knee high leather boot. They were female. You know, they didn't at least the boot. They did not say I'm assuming mail. OK. Because remember, they made skirt and high heels so that women couldn't run away. Oh, right, right, right. That's why I got a picture of a high heel boot or do I picture a dude heel boot?

4:23 I think it's a dude heel boot. OK. There was no sign of the rest of the body. Vancouver police department constables were baffled. But you know what? Detective work is really hard. You know, it's easier than actually pounding the pavement looking for answers. Oh, can I guess? Sure. Making assumptions and going with it. Or letting the answers come to you. Oh, oh. I've been watching too much ID channel. At this time, the police station headquarters was a tent at the foot of Carroll Street, thanks to the recent fire. So they mounted the leg to a pole outside their quote unquote headquarters and just waited for someone to come and claim it.

5:03 What? Like you recognize this? What? Does this belong to you? It's in the lost and found. OK. I had to do like digging through the lost and found through coats and water bottles. I've been looking for this everywhere. Oh my god. I forgot I left this year. Oh my god. What? OK. And at what point does it stink? Well, and they're at hung for two weeks rotting and stinking. But it was the 1880s. So everything probably smelled really bad. So it kind of just blended in with the feces that were probably in the gutter. And right, we used to let our livestock just roam the streets, let in there.

5:45 Well, and if a fire had burnt down and there's no sanitation, the gutters are flowing with human feces too, I'm sure. It was a real sexy time. Let's go back there. Let's make America great again. You know, 1880s. You know, sorry. You're going to probably have to cut that, but yes, this is what I think every time somebody says that, let's make America great again. Make America great again. Like for fucking who? Right. OK. So not even you. Like literally not even you. You're in swimming and sewage right now. Bathing was like once a week of air if you were rich. OK. All right. So it was already in an advanced state of Decomp when they found it.

6:29 That's what I'm saying. I can only imagine what it smelled like after two weeks in the summer sun. Oh my god. This was in the summer. And it washed up on the shore. So it'd been in the Sailor Sea, which I do love, but does have its own smell. So it's already been decaying in the Sailor Sea. And then they nail it up to a pole and let it sit there in the August. Found, found January 24th on this beach. Is this yours? So when no one-legged man showed up, they just threw it away. Some stories say they gave it to a dog, but I think that's a little sailor sea. I think that's a little sailor sea. I think that's a little salacious. Salacious.

7:09 Salacious. We start that over. So like, they gave it-- so one rumor is they gave it to a dog to like eat. I'm assuming it was just one. I mean, it was just one. One blurb. OK. So that story-- That story. I'm like, this is a three-legged dog story that may not be completely accurate. I found accounts that discredit this story possibly. Like the whole story. Well, not just the dog part. But there was telling that perhaps they found more than just the leg that they didn't hang it out on a pole for two weeks. It may not be completely accurate, but it was a good enough of a story to name this shopping plaza after it. Well, it's a legend now.

7:50 And that was true or not. It's a legend. It makes a great story. Yeah. And that was not the last time a disarticulated foot was found on Vancouver shores. Wow. But first, we're going to take a little bit. A break. Because I want to share with you a podcast that I discovered this week. Oh, wow. It is quickly becoming one of my favorites. Because you know, I love messed up stories in history. Right. And I think that our listeners, you too, I mean, that's where they're here, right? Yes. They're not just here for vanilla history, right? They want to know the weird, the wacky, and the best up. And this podcast delivers just that. It's called "Fed Up History." It's E-F-F-E-D-F-T-Up History.

8:33 It's hosted by Christina Yeager, who is a historian specializing in the early modern which trials. We're talking like 1700s, 1600s, 1700s. That is very special. That is very special. Salem type. Exactly. The podcast tells stories from history and myths that are super F-Depth. I really, really love this podcast because she gives hilarious commentary on these messed-up tales. She's sarcastic and she goes on her hands with lots of swearing. Love it. Right. It's perfect for me. Yes. Perfect. Yes. I'm a fan. She's got episodes covering not only the Salem witch trials, but stories about the mythologies of the zodiac, cryptids, Hamilton, the tutors, Norse gods, Troy, you name it.

9:21 And you can find her podcast on Spotify and all the things wherever you get your podcasts. You can even go to her F-Depth History website to listen to the episodes there. And that's F-Depth History starting with an E. E-S-F-E-D. F-F-E-D. F-D-Up History. It is definitely one of my favorite podcasts to listen to right now. I love her commentary. She's fantastic. So definitely go listen to F-Depth History herself. Yes. Okay. Well, we should get back to the Salish Sea human foot discoveries. What do you think? All right. Let's do it. I'm so glad you dived in because I was like, what is this? Why?

10:01 And how? And why is it not a bigger deal? Please tell me. Okay. So first off, I want to let you know that I am keeping account of all the feet we're talking about. So at the end, we will wrap it up. Excellent. So we've already talked about foot number one, which when you read about-- Oh, big. When you read about this online, it often does not include the two feet that that were found before 2007, but I'm including them here. Okay. Because I think it's a good part of the history. All right. So according to a Wikipedia page dedicated to this mystery, which is literally just called the Salish Sea human foot discoveries. It's very thorough. And this was the source for much of this episode.

10:43 The Vancouver Sun reported on July 30, 1914 that another leg in a high boot was discovered on a beach near the mouth of the Salmon River. All right. Fast forward to the summer of 2007, so almost a hundred years later. On August 20, a little 12-year-old girl was walking on a beach on Jebedaya Island in British Columbia with her family. She came across a blue and white Adidas-- or excuse me, as my brother says, an Adidas sneaker. Of course he does. She came across a-- She came across a blue and white Adidas sneaker.

11:24 And as many curious kids do, she peaked inside. She was horrified to discover that it contained a man's right foot. It was a size 12 and was later identified as belonging to a missing man who had been suffering from depression. Size 12. How tall was this man? Well, that's not that. I mean, that's a pretty normal size. As we will see. I'm going to keep going. As we will see. S-E-A. Oh, dead joke. All right. And you're not even one. Oh my god, nailed it. All these six days later, another man's right foot in another size 12 white re-bok was discovered by a couple of Gabriola Island in British Columbia.

12:08 Police were stunned to being found in such a short period of time as suspicious. How far apart again? Six days. Six days, wow. So, quote, "To being found in such a short period of time as suspicious." "Gerry Cox." Of the Royal Canadian Mountain Police. I'm going to put a shoe size 12. Because the foot, the core is fun to the sides of the Gary Cox. Okay, I'm a nurse. I'm telling you, it's hands. No. And hands do. So, Bigfoot should have a, okay, 100%. We've talked about this before. You'll be able to get that special episode of Beatrie-O. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. You'll be able to get that special episode of Beatrie-O.

12:49 So, Gary Cox said that two being found in such a short period of time is suspicious. Finding one foot is like a million to one odds. But to find two is crazy. I've heard of dancers with two left feet. But come on. Oh. But, um, bump. King of the dad jokes. Gary Cox. Yeah. That. It's not. Yeah. Okay. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen.

13:29 I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen.

14:09 I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen.

14:49 I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. I'm going to put it on the screen. On June 16, 2008, a man's left foot now in a size 11 high top shoe was found on West Ham Island.

15:33 High top. More foot. Exactly. It was later determined that this was the match to the foot found on February 8th on Valdez Island. Both feet now. Yes, it is bonkers that both feet were not only found but found on different islands. The remains were later identified as a 24 year old Surrey man who had been reported missing four years earlier. That's insane. So like both feet, both feet, different islands, different areas. There were four years after he had been reported missing and they think that it was a death by suicide. Dang. But nothing else about this man has been found just his two shoes.

16:13 I couldn't find anything. I didn't see anything. I didn't look very hard though either. Okay. On August 1st, 2008, a right foot inside a man's size 11 black shoe was discovered in seaweed. It was covered in seaweed on a beach near fished Washington. Are you familiar with P Y S H T fished. I've never heard of fish. I live in Washington. It's a noise. Have you ever heard of fished? No. I've lived here my of weird names in Washington. All but two years of be the weirdest. All but four years of my life. The first two and a couple two in the middle.

16:53 I've lived here my whole life and I've not heard that. The area is in the straight of Wanda Fuka, which is a body of water between Van. I wrote a bloody of water. Oh no. It can be. There's orcas and shirts. I know. There's a lot of blood in that water. It is between Vancouver Island and Washington State and it is the main outlet for the Salish Sea into the Pacific Ocean. Shay, it is literally one of my favorite places to be. If you haven't been there yet. Well, go around in the straight of Wanda Fuka. 100% I've done it on my boat. I've done it on a kayak. Wow. Absolutely. Why is it your favorite? There is something majestic. When you're up there and you're in that water, it is overwhelming and majestic.

17:37 And every time I see it, I am overwhelmed by the beauty and there's something about it that's just it encompasses your soul. Now that I know about the feet though, might change my opinion. Well, I mean, let's we'll get to that. You'll be fine. Real quick, for those of you who aren't in the Pacific Northwest or maybe just don't know about this area of it, maybe 11. I know. Right. Where I go, I know. Why would you know about the Salish Sea? Or the California. Okay. So you probably know in Alaska. So the Salish Sea is one of the world's largest inland seas. And it is named after the first inhabitants of the region, the Coast Salish.

18:17 It encompasses the Puget Sound, the San Juan Islands and the waters off of Vancouver, BC. So we've got the straight of Juan de Fuca and we've also got straight George. It has 4,642 miles of coastline, 419 islands and a sea surface area of about 6,535 square miles. And we will include a map of this on our Instagram and Facebook page. So you know, deep it is. I did not put that down, but I did read it. It's pretty deep. It's really deep. I think there was like 20, it was like 2600 feet. Right. Yeah. I remember kayaking and our guide told us that I liked that and I was terrified and I'm like, "Jody, what does it matter if you're 10 feet?"

18:59 Yeah. It's a little bit deeper than you really like, which is about 2000 feet deep. Okay. So on November 11th, 2008, a woman's left foot was discovered floating in the Frazier River in a new-balanced sneaker. Later it was. What's our count now? 9. Wow. This is the 9th foot. Wow. Later it was determined that this was the match the foot found on May 22nd on Kirkland Island. Feet went quiet for about a year. They were just tipped away. Shhh. It was dumb. That was real bad. No, I loved it. I mean, I don't know why, but I'm thinking about like what was happening in late 2008, early 2009.

19:41 The only thing I can think is that when we were starting to get really into the recession. Right. These are so far suicides when we've been able to identify, right? I think causing people to think that. I think mostly it's been people who have drowned on purpose. We've got something we're really excited to share with you guys. Let's hear a few words from our new pod besties. A little bit that todo is a podcast about a little bit of everything for curious minds of all ages. I'm Christina and you can tune in every weekday to learn about things like Cinco de Mayo, Chiwa was anvil canals in Latin America. Episodes are bite size 10 minutes long or less. And always Latin American related. Subscribe and follow a little bit of the todo podcast wherever you listen to podcasts.

20:24 Check them out, creepy people. Their info is in our show notes. So on October 27th, 2009, a man's right foot in a size 8.5 Nike running shoe. I keep it keeps auto correcting to show. Oh. Why? A running show was found on a beach in Richmond, BC. The foot was later identified as belonging to a Vancouver area man who was reporting missing in January of 2008. And then another good chunk of time goes by on August 27th, 2010, a woman's or child's right foot was found without a shoe or sock on would be island. Now we're in Washington.

21:06 It had been in the water for about two months and was never identified. A right foot belonging to either a child or a small adult was found in Tacoma, Washington on the title flat. The foot was in a boy's size six Ozark Trail hiking boot and it was found on December 5th, 2010. Boys. Oh, wow. I don't remember hearing this one. I don't either. On August 30th, 2011, a foot of undeterminable sex was found in a man's white and blue size 9 runner. Next to the Plaza of Nations Marina back in good old false creek BC. This Marina, this was interesting, is almost directly across the bay from where our very first foot was discovered in the 1800s.

21:51 The leg and boot. Huh? Directly across the bay. Wow. Also, it wasn't just a foot. The lower leg bones were attached. Again. Mm-hmm. So, but this was in a shoe, not a boot. Yet the whole leg stays maintained. It is coincidence, but it is an interesting coincidence. Yes, for sure. At Sasamott Lake in BC, I may be saying that wrong. The right foot of a local fisherman who had gone missing in 1987 was discovered by campers on November 4th, 2011. Oh, you believe that? That's like a retro shoe right there.

22:32 I know. That's crazy. That's so, probably, see. So he probably had drowned. His body was at the bottom of the lake and then his foot finally came detached and finally floated up. Popped on it. Yeah. So, what lake was this? Sasamott Lake. So, so not related to the Salish Sea. I don't know. Or is it off of Salish Sea? Or is it off of Salish Sea or not? It may be unrelated, but it's a foot. All right, on December 10th, and I'm not laughing about the feet, it's just the whole thing is a little bit bizarre. It's morbid and bizarre, which sometimes all you can do is like, why feet? Why feet?

23:13 Why not hands? Why not? Right. Well, there's a reason. Yeah. Okay. Most we will get to. All right, right. On December 10th, 2011, we head back to Washington. A human leg and foot were found in a black plastic bag under the ship canal bridge in Lake not to suicide. - Use suicide. - No, okay. You don't. - You're like, come across the body. - I watched you. - I watch you, I watch ID channel. The Owl bodies come in plastic bags. Garbage bags, by the way, from the side of the road. - Oh, plastic bags. - On the side of the road. - Or any random place. If you see a garbage bag, a black garbage bag, - I always think there are bodies in there as a body. - Right, that's how I always think. And this time it was just a lake. It was never identified.

23:53 I had to have been foul play because you don't come across a suicide. I'm gonna wrap my leg in a plastic bag before a kill myself. Just to mess with people. Oh my God, I might actually. If I get to that point, I might mess with people. - All right, so so far we have talked about 15, kind of 15 disarticulated feet found in the Salish Sea greater area, spanning over 100 years. And we aren't done. - Wow. - There are still more of foot. - Oh, shit. - I cannot believe you're not a father. All signs point to you being a real dad.

24:36 I'm a great dad. I mean, if your jokes are any indication, fantastic, world renowned. - So when I finally get my dog, you're gonna be like, she's a dog dad. - Yeah. - You're really like, - Why do you call her a dog dad? - She is like, she is the best dad jokes. I'm so bad. - That's freaking happening. - All right. All right, so a boot with human bones inside was found on January 6th, 2012, in the sand along the water at a dog park in Vancouver. Now this did not mention if a dog found it. - No, yeah. - Walks up with it. - Hi, look what I put under the beach. - That's where the mouth is.

25:17 - That's where you got it. - Is that worse than having to pull desiccated cat turds out of your dog's mouth? - No, because this is definitely more intriguing. Like at least there's a mystery on the other end. - There's a mystery about the desiccated cat turds. - No, the cat turds are just like, "God, dad, I heard you." (laughing) The legs are like, "Prow, what is, what the heck?" - I had a prize, - Jaws'o. - I had a prize that I was open to get the cat turd out. It was like desiccated and he was like, "Oh, it's gonna leave in forever." Okay, this happened to me once I had a pit bull and I did this and I get it out of his mouth. It's a fucking rabbit and I mean, it is powdery decayed in my living room.

25:59 I'm like, "Oh my God, no." I'm like, I kept going, so I actually walked by it like 24 times going, that stuffed animal needs thrown out and God, it stinks. And so far, I'm like, "I'm like now." (laughing) It's so crazy. - It's so cruel. This is a bunny from long ago. - It's so disgusting. - And dusty. (laughing) - Oh God, that's pretty bad. It's so bad. (laughing) Either way, you go and you brush your dogs teeth. - Yeah. (laughing) All right, moving on. So we're gonna go fast through these next several.

26:41 I'll be here by myself. - All right, a foot in a white new balance was found on the shoreline of Centennial Park in Seattle, Washington on May 6th, 2014. - Okay, hold on. I have to say a white new balance. This was a 50, right, it was bought at Costco. This is a 55 year old white male. - Right. (laughing) - Hey, do not shit on buying your clothes at Costco. This is from Costco. This is from Costco. These socks are from Costco. Is that from Costco? So I don't go to Costco. I end up buying all the clothes. - Damn it, #CoscoFashionEestime. - Yeah. I am very comfortable right now.

27:22 Thank you very much. - That's really nice. - I'm fine. I really started to give up caring what I looked like to other people as long as I'm comfortable. Okay. On February 7th, 2016, Hikers found a foot in a sock and running shoe on Botanical Beach on Vancouver Island. Five days later, it's mate washed up near Port Rindview close to the prior location. December 8th, 2017. Remains of a leg and foot washed up near Jordan River on Vancouver Island. On May 6th, 2018, a hiking boot with a human foot inside was found on Gabriola Island. We're back to Gabriola Island. A size nine and a half light gray Nike with a foot inside was found on the shore in West Vancouver.

28:03 On January 1st, 2019, a foot in a boot was found on Jenny Island near Everett, Washington. It was later tied to a man named Antonio Neal missing since December 2016. So almost three years. Almost there. We're staying in Washington on November 21st, 2021. A size seven Brahma work boot was found washed up on Locust Beach near Bellingham. December of 2021, a size eight new balance washed up on the mouth of the Elwa River in Port Angeles, Washington. They later tied it to Jerrelyn L. Smith who went missing from squim in January of 2018.

28:45 For all of you out there who don't live in the Pacific, Northwest, squim is another one that is commonly pronounced because it is spelled sequim. Sequim. Sequim. Sequim. Sequim? Last but not least, the 26th foot in our story was found on July 23rd, 2023. Ooh, ooh, on Gonzales Beach in Victoria, BC. Wow. Now, so why do we keep finding these grisly bits to flot some on our beaches in the Pacific Northwest? I want to hand an arm, something, nothing, just feet and shoes. I mean, is it a serial killer who's in defeat?

29:25 Is it a playing crash in the nearby ocean? Drowning victims that have been trying to cross the border? Well, that I was thinking about people like getting on cargo ships trying to get here. That's one theory. But authorities and scientists have concluded that the reason we keep finding feet is for a few reasons. Oh, few. First, when a body is in the sea, scavengers go for the more tender exposed bits. Often this is the ankle where the skin is thin. And there is not much actually holding your foot onto the rest of your leg, just some ligaments and tendons, right? Right, right.

30:05 And those bones are, there's like several little bones, right? So, Sebastian the crab. Is picking away at this new-- Is he speaking in an accent? Yes. All right. At this floating buffet, suddenly this is not weird and creepy anymore and it's entertaining and fun. Like hearted and trial-like. And pretty quickly, the foot is disartaculated from the leg. So in 2007, a study by Simon Frazier University showed that a corpse could be reduced to a skeleton in as few as four days by all of the hungry critters in the sea. And is that at the bottom of the sea, we're talking about crustaceans or do they just float and something?

30:47 A pig's carcass, under something that would keep it submerged, but it was still floating. Oh, okay. As far as I can see. So it wasn't sitting on the bottom. So the crab was also about-- Okay. Yeah, there's somewhere near the bottom, but they're not sitting necessarily. You've got these big beds of seaweed and sometimes animal carcasses will get caught in that. And so scavengers will just hang out and eat on the stuff that's in there. So why doesn't the foot sink to the sea floor? Well, there has been a big change in sneaker design since the early 2000s. So modern athletic shoes utilize a lot of lightweight foam that has been injected with air, making the shoes and the feet inside of them more buoyant.

31:29 So this is why it's more of a recent issue that it's more fluid. Notice this mostly is happening since the 2000s. So what you're telling me is before the 2000s, we just have a lot of shoes on the bottom of the floor. Sure for sure. They just need to make it up. Yeah, they're most likely now to float up to be able to be washed ashore to be discovered. That part's a new phenomenon. So the unique currents of water movement within the Salish Sea also has something to do with it. So according to oceanography professor Parker McCready of the University of Washington in an interview to Vox, he said things that float at the ocean surface move with the currents, but are also pushed a bit by the wind and this can be significant in getting them to shore.

32:12 The prevailing winds here are west to east. And so floating stuff in this part of the Pacific gets blown to the coast effectively. So the large and complex body of water of the Salish Sea acts as a trap. So another factor why we're finding all of these feet may be a phenomenon called frequency illusion, also known as the beta minehaw phenomenon. Frequency illusion was coined by Stanford linguistics professor Arnold Zwicky. I love that last name. It's wiki. It is essentially a cognitive bias in which a person notices a specific concept, word, or product after recently becoming aware of it.

32:53 So when you buy a Cadillac, all the sudden you see Cadillac everywhere. OK, so that's the what phenomenon, the beta minehaw or frequency illusion. OK, gotcha. That happens to me a lot. I'll be like, oh, Applejacks. Oh, now I see Applejacks everywhere. And I haven't talked about Applejacks since 1984. Exactly. Got ya. So for the Pacific Northwest, there were several news pieces about feet being found on beaches. So now everyone on the beach looks for shoes and then looks inside of them to see if there's a foot, where before maybe you just thought it was a piece of sea trash. So perhaps instead of the frequency of feet being washed up on shore, increasing, it was just increased awareness.

33:37 So it's a mix of selective attention, keeping an eye out for something, and confirmation bias. More feet have been found, so more feet are being washed up. Got it. How about our time with that? So it's just a-- It's a cognitive bias. Like, does that mean we didn't used to look in shoes? Because I think everybody always would have been curious finding a foot in a shoe. Are we in a shoe? Well, I think we're more curious now about where we're in the shoe. Because there's the awareness that people have been finding feet in shoes. Now we're going to be looking for it. Instead of just walking on the beach, now you're looking where at the shoreline, and then when you see a shoe, you're going to look inside it, where maybe before you're like, it grows, and you stay away from it. Well, that's the same thing as my black plastic bag, my garbage bag.

34:19 I've never ever-- I'd be like, it grows, who dumped their garbage. And I'm like, oh my god, there's a body over there. Exactly. So that's the same sort of thing. Yes, gotcha. Yeah. Well, anyways, that's the case of the Salish-- Wow. So it's not as mysterious as it seems. There's answers behind these. Many of these have been identified. I didn't know that. For some reason, in my recollection of the story-- Right. --of deep into it. --a lot of them tied to missing persons. And most of those people, they think, were probably suicides. Gotcha. I didn't even know that they tied them back to anyone. I just thought they'd been found and never identified, but a lot of them have been tied back to suicide. And the Salish Sea is-- I mean, it's a swirly-- I mean, as a boater, Keith, and I used to have a boat.

35:03 We had no business being out there. I don't know why. You cannot leave a car a lot without a driver's license. But you can go by a boat. In fact, one that's way too big for somebody who's never owned a boat or a Ben and Sea. And just-- You can just wrap that. They gave us an hour-long session on how to drive this. I'm not even lying. So running into docs everywhere and said, now you're good. And go to the San Juan's, like you've always dreamed. And we did. And we are alive by the grace of God. And then also realized, maybe this was a great idea because it costs $1,000 every time we take the boat out. Anyway, because of gas. Anywhere. Yeah. And your friends are like, oh, can we take out your boat out? And they're like, well, buy some beer. Yes. A six pack of beer, a case of beer on good days, wouldn't show up. And I'm like, yeah, the gas was $400.

35:44 But things-- I'm not thirsty now. Thanks for spending $24 on that case of PBR. Right. Here we go. That's just the gas. Let's talk about the cost of the boat, the insurance, the maintenance, the fact that we had to store it in a slip because it was too big to bring home. So my grandfather had a little sign on his desk that said, a boat is a hole in the water surrounded by wood into which one pours money. Yes, 100%. That's all it was. Now wood. Now it's fiberglass. Fiberglass. But still. So my main source was the Great Wicapedia page, the Salish Sea Human Foot Discoveries. And there was also a great article on all that's interesting.com.

36:27 There's lots of articles out there. I also listened to an episode on Stuff You Should Know, which is a great, great podcast. Not a whole lot of mystery, really. About them. Is there any other theories out there that we could run with that are exciting? Well, there was a theory for a while. There's a serial killer that was in Canada. I think his name was Robert Picton. And he-- Is he the one that fed his-- Victims is pigs. --to his pigs, and then would feed people the pigs? Yeah, yeah. He was like a modern Hannibal at the time. Yeah, I would like to do a piece on him at some point. Where we get into-- --the-- Yeah. But for now, there's not a whole lot that's-- So they thought maybe he'd been toss and feed.

37:09 Yeah, but no, they just-- It's modern, secret design. It's the Salish Sea's special properties, and then it's that cognitive bias. So there's real answers to this mystery? Yes, there is. But it still is mysteries. And if you're walking on a beach in the Pacific Northwest, you find a shoe. Especially near the Salish Sea. We aren't all near Salish Sea in the Pacific Northwest. If you are in the Salish Sea, keep your eye out. First, me, please. Look at that shoe. You're walking the rocks. If you see a shoe, keep your eye out. Well, I mean, if you keep your eye out. If you don't want anything to do with that, don't look in a shoe. You don't know. Probably all you're going to find is a crab and some seaweed, mostly. I will post. I have a fantastic photograph of a shoe on a beach that I took at my happy place, Harstein Island last summer.

37:57 And it was-- But there's no foot in it. There's no foot in it. But it was covered in seaweed. And it's just a great photograph. So I will post that on our social media. It's so good. But I definitely looked inside of it because I thought of this immediately. See? This is living with the illusion. Yeah. Spurred this entire adventure, really, me, rabbit hole. What was Harstein Island? And talking about this specific topic as well as others. But this did come into our hey, there's so many weird things in the Pacific Northwest. This was on the top of the list. So thank you so much for-- Because I've always wondered and never put a lot into it. Because I've-- It's just one of those mysteries. It's a mystery out there. And I'm always looking into other mysteries and never made it to this one.

38:38 So thank you for answering this for me. I'm not exactly happy that it's not that much for mystery. I mean, you may have ruined it. It's something more nefarious. I did want a ferris. I mean, it could have been aliens. Hey, Bigfoot could have been just eating everything but the foot. And-- He doesn't know. But no. He doesn't know how to work. Just the Salish Sea and modern sneaker design. Thanks, Shay. Bigfoot only has Velcro sneakers, because he does not know how to work. She does do laces, right? So if you're in laces, your feet are safe, but you are not. No, that's not what came from this story. So if you were the old man who buys his Velcro, get some new balance, your feet-- will probably never be found, because-- No, because that Bigfoot can handle the Velcro sneakers.

39:23 They're just not safe. We're just never going to find any part of you if you're wearing Velcro. So if you wear Doc Martins, though, I bet your feet would never-- Oh, shoot. --because they will sink. Those things are heavy. Yep. Let's wrap this up. So guys, thank you so much for being here. Thanks for listening. And please, again, go and follow us on Spotify, follow us on Apple Podcasts, follow us wherever you can follow us everywhere. And more importantly, please share the podcast with your friends and family. And anybody you know, your coworkers-- Anyone you know. As long as they won't be offended by titty shack. Right. We've got to have some sense of humor. Yeah, you've got to have a sense of humor. So maybe not your church group. I mean, just saying.

40:03 I mean, maybe. I don't know. Well, we will see you next time. And until then, see you down the rabbit hole. [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] Pickled. It's pickled. It's a pickled fruit. Yum.