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Huge Pumice Rock 'Island' Seen Floating In South Pacific

First time accepted submitter ZombieBraintrust writes "Pumice, the lightweight stone used to smooth skin, is usually found in beauty salons, but on Thursday sailors from New Zealand's Royal Navy found nearly 10,000 square miles of the lava rock bobbing on the surface of the South Pacific Ocean."

104 comments

  1. Reportedly... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...the sailors who made the discovery had the clearest skin that the reporter has ever seen.

    1. Re:Reportedly... by biometrizilla · · Score: 5, Funny

      In related news, Joan Rivers took a swim in the Pacific yesterday and emerged without her makeup.

    2. Re:Reportedly... by jd2112 · · Score: 4, Funny

      In related news, Joan Rivers took a swim in the Pacific yesterday and emerged without her makeup.

      And an animal rescue team promptly helped the hideous creature back into the ocean, although some wanted to keep it for study, being unable to determine it's species.

      --
      Any insufficiently advanced magic is indistinguishable from technology.
    3. Re:Reportedly... by doccus · · Score: 1

      Better call the Cryptozoologists..

  2. Nothing to worry about... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    It's just Cthulhu turning over in his sleep.

    1. Re:Nothing to worry about... by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 4, Funny

      Actually, I like to think of this as of planet Earth having a nocturnal emission.

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
    2. Re:Nothing to worry about... by RockDoctor · · Score: 1
      With a Japanese-sounding name (not that I know your family history), and Japan being one of the most volcanically-active islands in the world, that sounds much more disturbing to me than it probably sounded to you.

      Do you want to get fucked by a volcano having a "nocturnal emission"? Proper fucked?

      --
      Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
    3. Re:Nothing to worry about... by Eponymous+Hero · · Score: 1

      horrible execution of the kabosh technique. back to troll school for you.

      --
      insensitive clod overlords obligatory xkcd car analogy russian reversals whoosh pedant fanbois ftfy in 3...2...1..PROFIT
  3. R'lyeh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Reads like an excerpt from an H. P. Lovecraft story...

  4. not exactly an island by Trepidity · · Score: 5, Informative

    If it's like previous pumice rafts, it's more like a large area of debris than a big island. Here's a random photo showing a boat plowing a path through one made up of smaller pieces. Not really the kind of thing you can walk around on, though the description of this one having an edge like an ice-shelf makes it sound like it may have larger rocks in it. Here is a NASA satellite photo of a 2006 occurrence with a more obvious origin (it's adjacent to an erupting volcano).

    1. Re:not exactly an island by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well, if it meets up with that large island of floating plastic debris maybe they will solidify and harden together to make Hawaii 2.0.

    2. Re:not exactly an island by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      More like Hawaii Vista

    3. Re:not exactly an island by Trepidity · · Score: 3, Informative

      That one, it turns out, is even less of an island, and mostly not even visible: the "great Pacific garbage patch" is not really a macroscopic phenomenon, but rather an area of the Pacific Ocean with higher than normal concentrations of plastic particles, mostly suspended beneath the surface. The larger pieces are broken down by wave action fairly quickly, so it's not a giant mass of floating milk jugs or anything like that.

    4. Re:not exactly an island by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "The larger pieces are broken down by wave action fairly quickly"

      Bullshit.

      Some of them are.

    5. Re:not exactly an island by Spiridios · · Score: 5, Informative

      If you click through to TFA's TFA, you'll see they properly used the term "raft" unlike MSN. They also mentioned that their vessel plowed right through it, even though "The rock appeared to be sitting above the surface of the waves and when lit up looked like the edge of an ice shelf."

      For further terminology bending, the Daily Mail calls it a rock ice-shelf. They also have a pic of it that looks more frothy than island or ice-shelf like.

    6. Re:not exactly an island by yincrash · · Score: 1
      A quote from the dailymail article:

      'The rock looked to be sitting two foot (half a metre) above the surface of the waves and lit up a brilliant while colour in the spotlight. It looked exactly like the edge of an ice shelf.'

      Sooo, maybe something big!

    7. Re:not exactly an island by semiotec · · Score: 1

      No, not an island. It's a flotation device.

    8. Re:not exactly an island by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh butthurt hippies. So easily to upset.

    9. Re:not exactly an island by Trepidity · · Score: 1

      I like the part where they include a bunch of gratuitous photos of actual ice shelves.

    10. Re:not exactly an island by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      You tell 'em Mitt!

      And who knows where this "plastic" even came from. The science is still out on that, there's no evidence that its even man made...

    11. Re:not exactly an island by Trepidity · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I don't mean to imply at all that it's not an environmental problem, just that it's not a picturesque one consisting of a giant island of floating plastic milk jugs and lawn furniture. In some ways the reality is worse, because at least in principle you could clean up macroscopic waste (though it'd be very hard), but it's basically impossible to filter flecks of plastic from the ocean.

    12. Re:not exactly an island by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't mean to imply at all that ....

      You're not; you're just dealing with a functional illiterate.

    13. Re:not exactly an island by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      According to the article:

      "Recent studies have suggested that pumice floats played an important role in the evolution of life on Earth since these "islands" can float across long stretches of ocean, ferrying animals, plants and even colonies of microbes across water barriers."

      This make it sound like its would be an actual island... No quote on that study though...

    14. Re:not exactly an island by Sperbels · · Score: 1

      Ah bummer. The article made it sound like this was a giant piece of rock that you could walk on. That would be nifty.

    15. Re:not exactly an island by Anne_Nonymous · · Score: 1

      Why yes, I have seen a satellite photo of Late.

    16. Re:not exactly an island by theshowmecanuck · · Score: 1

      Maybe for small boats it's OK to plow through it, but with larger boats and ships I would think it is not a good idea. They have a tonne of water inlets from below the water line for things like engine cooling/heat exchangers, and flushing out sewage, bilge pumps, etc. That pumice can thoroughly fuck up a pump. Or clog a heat exchanger. That could shut down one of those massive diesel engines right quick. It could also mean having to reapply antifouling paint on some vessels depending on how far they had to go to get through it and how much grinding action it had on the paint. That's not a cheap operation either. On the other hand, on some vessels it might provide a bit of needed hull cleaning. That'll take care of yer barnacle problem. (just kidding on the last bit... rubbing on the waterline doesn't count for proper cleaning).

      --
      -- I ignore anonymous replies to my comments and postings.
    17. Re:not exactly an island by fermion · · Score: 2

      I know just like the oil in the gulf of Mexico, the plastic is a natural occurrence. There a little vents that release plastic jugs. These are not a problem because natural processes break down the oil, the plastic, the pumice into small harmless pieces.

      --
      "She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
    18. Re:not exactly an island by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hi,

      fyi I have sailed across the ocean (IAABWS?) and while lots of it may be microscopic, a whole lot of it isn't, and is still waiting to get brittle in the UV and be broken up by waves or bored dolphins or eaten by seabirds.

      There's tons of shit in the water many hundreds of miles from shore. Not just plastic bottles, 2x4s, shopping bags, broken coolers and chunks of styrofoam, all sorts of crap.
      Convergence zones and long slicks just mean that they get together for a party, all piled up together, or at least floating within a few feet of each other.

      It's a bit like finding McDonalds takeout wrappers at the bottom on the Grand Canyon or somewhere remote and iconic like that, after days at sea miles from anywhere, seeing that does a pretty good job of lowering your view of humanity to the level of 'what a bunch of lazy slobs'.

    19. Re:not exactly an island by martin-boundary · · Score: 1

      Aww crap! And I've already booked the cruise... The travel agent said I could walk on the island first in the morning, and then the ship's crew would turn it over and I could walk on the other side in the evening.

    20. Re:not exactly an island by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I plan to settle and raise my family there. I already made a flag

    21. Re:not exactly an island by RockDoctor · · Score: 1
      With a pair of large skis - water skis perhaps - it's not entirely impossible.

      Actually, that sounds like a good one for the Mythbusters!

      --
      Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
  5. 10k? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Could this possibly be made stable and used for anything useful?

    1. Re:10k? by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

      Convince hippies it's a green place to live. Drop them off with buckets of paper mache to glue it together. Don't go back.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
  6. It's the navy of the Molemen! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    They've finally worked out their disagreements with Atlantis and have united to force the Surface world to bow to their will!

    Is there no treachery beneath them?

  7. Did they find the Great Pink Sea Snail yet? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...it's just a matter of time, is all.

  8. RIAA will buy it before the pirates do. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    eom

  9. He's waking up! by djirk · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Ph'nglui Mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn.

    1. Re:He's waking up! by couchslug · · Score: 1

      That pumice is from a thing which makes Cthulhu look as innocent as the Geico gecko.

      It fell off when my mother-in-law was stoning her corns.

      --
      "This post is an artistic work of fiction and falsehood. Only a fool would take anything posted here as fact."
    2. Re:He's waking up! by VortexCortex · · Score: 2

      Just listen to you... "He" Ha! Your notion of gender is quaint -- Your small mind can not begin to comprehend the mechanisms of C'thulhu's procreation. To conceive of such cosmorganic machinations is to become their very product.... which looks surprisingly like pumice flotsam.

    3. Re:He's waking up! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I hope. The human race really does need a boot put in its ass.

    4. Re:He's waking up! by yurtinus · · Score: 1

      ...cosmorgasmic

      --
      +1 Disagree
  10. New Zealand has a navy??? by Vinegar+Joe · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Seriously?

    --
    "The average reporter we talk to is 27 years old......They literally know nothing." - Ben Rhodes
    1. Re:New Zealand has a navy??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Seriously?

      What did you expect, a land based army?

    2. Re:New Zealand has a navy??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      The NZ Navy is composed of two main groups: the officer corps, and the radio corps. The officer corps directs the radio corps; the radio corps calls for help when things go bad. Their two main geographical zones are west (a phone number for Australia) and east (a phone number for the US).

    3. Re:New Zealand has a navy??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually, per capita, they have one of the strongest navies in the world. Their country is only the size of California and has 30% less people than Minnesota.

    4. Re:New Zealand has a navy??? by tr4nshum4n · · Score: 2

      A few of their ships showed up in Pearl Harbor for RIMPAC. They probably spotted the pumice on the trip back to New Zealand.

    5. Re:New Zealand has a navy??? by agm · · Score: 1

      Though they weren't given permission to actuall dock in Pearl Harbour. Possibly because we (New Zealanders) don't allow nuclear powered vesseles in our waters.

    6. Re:New Zealand has a navy??? by Bitsy+Boffin · · Score: 4, Informative

      We are a small nation surrounded by a vast expanse of water, we have a number of our own islands or those which we administer, hundreds even thousands of kilometers distant, we have Antarctic claims to the south and regularly need to render assistance to Polynesian islands to the north, and importantly we have economic and environmental interests to police in a large area of ocean.

      So yes, we do have a Navy.

      It's not a Navy of pure war ships though, you're not going to find a destroyer, a carrier, or a submarine in our fleet. Our ships are by necessity multi role.

      --
      NZ Electronics Enthusiasts: Check out my Trade Me Listings
    7. Re:New Zealand has a navy??? by geezer+nerd · · Score: 4, Informative

      And New Zealand does have an army (and an air force) in addition to a navy. All organizations are very small, and are not set up for offensive warfare. They are most often used for humanitarian missions. There is a contingent of the NZ Army SAS active in Afghanistan for several years now.

      And, going back to the original posting, the proper term for the navy of NZ is "Royal New Zealand Navy", not "New Zealand Royal Navy". "Royal Navy" is British.

    8. Re:New Zealand has a navy??? by Kalriath · · Score: 1

      Yes, just don't ask about our Air Force. You've already seen that, the entirety of it raided Kim Dotcom's house.

      --
      For a site about things like basic rights, Slashdot users sure do like to censor "dissent".
    9. Re:New Zealand has a navy??? by crutchy · · Score: 1

      its probably good that your ship didn't dock at Pearl Harbor, as they may have got snagged on all the wrecks from the mighty sunken navy that was brought down by a few japanese fighter planes... i guess size doesn't always matter

    10. Re:New Zealand has a navy??? by crutchy · · Score: 1

      there's always the RAAF :)

    11. Re:New Zealand has a navy??? by tarogue · · Score: 1

      > "Royal Navy" is British.

      So is New Zealand. "... united by common allegiance to the Crown."

      --
      Life sucks, but death doesn't put out at all. -- Thomas J. Kopp
    12. Re:New Zealand has a navy??? by Richard_at_work · · Score: 2

      The Crown is a separate entity to that of the countries - there is a Queen of New Zealand, who happens to also be the Queen of England (and several other places, such as Australia and Canada), and the Crown is united, while the parliament of Great Britain has no say or power in the other countries. So no, New Zealand isn't British.

    13. Re:New Zealand has a navy??? by HornWumpus · · Score: 0

      Cool. That means that bunch of inbred twits has multiple depositions to look forward to.

      I hope they burn through their money and have to get real jobs.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    14. Re:New Zealand has a navy??? by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

      So what your saying is you have Coast Guard you call a Navy?

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    15. Re:New Zealand has a navy??? by geezer+nerd · · Score: 1

      Way off topic post. What on earth do you think you are trying to say? I certainly cannot make any sense of this post.

    16. Re:New Zealand has a navy??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's actually close to the size of it. The ANZAC frigates are a bit more than most coast guards have though; not many ships have a jet engine for braking either.

    17. Re:New Zealand has a navy??? by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

      The fucking royal family will eventually be fired multiple times by multiple nations.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
  11. Life imitating Pratchett by cowboy76Spain · · Score: 2

    But I'll keep waiting for the news about the turtle and the elephants :-).

    --
    Why can't /. have a rich-text editor? Editing your own HTML is so XXth century.
  12. Watch out, cruise ships... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    PUMICE! DEAD AHEAD!

  13. Versatile cleaner by DigiShaman · · Score: 4, Funny

    "Pumice, the lightweight stone used to smooth skin, is usually found in beauty salons."

    Ha! I'll use that line next time I see a mechanic wash his hands with a Lava Bar.

    --
    Life is not for the lazy.
    1. Re:Versatile cleaner by camelrider · · Score: 1

      Great for removing paint from moving ships and polishing their propellers too.

  14. Fixed the summary for you by macshome · · Score: 4

    First time accepted submitter ZombieBraintrust copy and pastes from CNN.com

    1. Re:Fixed the summary for you by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      So.. Fareed Zakaria got a new job??

    2. Re:Fixed the summary for you by crutchy · · Score: 1

      what did you expect? slashdot doesn't come up with any of its own unique stories... unless they involve microsoft or apple bashing

    3. Re:Fixed the summary for you by baKanale · · Score: 1

      First time accepted submitter ZombieBraintrust copy and pastes from CNN.com

      And yet he submitted an article from MSNBC...

    4. Re:Fixed the summary for you by macshome · · Score: 1

      That's just clever obfuscation.

    5. Re:Fixed the summary for you by ZombieBraintrust · · Score: 4, Funny

      I suppose I don't know the rule very well. Are we supposed to write an original summary? Next time I will be sure to add lots of bias and opinion. Tie it to apple and change the title to a stupid question. Not sure why I copy pasted from wrong article. ohh well

  15. mother earth is changing her own climate? by nido · · Score: 0, Troll

    The pumice in these islands was created by underwater volcanos. How much heat are these conspirators against humanity putting into our oceans? Maybe THEY are to blame for the melting ice caps?

    --
    Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.
    www.teslabox.com
    1. Re:mother earth is changing her own climate? by riverat1 · · Score: 1

      Not a chance. The heat receive from the Sun and retained by the Earth is several orders of magnitude greater than all volcanoes put together. Volcanoes are insignificant in that regard.

  16. Even god has bad feet. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Even god has bad feet. And what better place to have a bath than the pacific?

    1. Re:Even god has bad feet. by crutchy · · Score: 2

      maybe the floating islands are his shoes... screw the gourd... follow the shoe!!!

  17. The Pirate Bay's secret base by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Is it buoyant enough to ship the pirate bay over to it, it can be it's own country then :P

    Captcha: Thieve.

  18. Party in the Pacific! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Rock On!

  19. oblig by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    thats no moon...

  20. Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn by xaoslaad · · Score: 2

    An island rising in the south Pacific can mean only one thing!

  21. Nature by hammeraxe · · Score: 1

    Fuck! Nature is amazing!

  22. $25 a ton by Animats · · Score: 2

    It could be scooped up and sold, but at $25 a ton, it's not worth it.

    1. Re:$25 a ton by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Given that tap water in a plastic bottle with a picture of Niagara Falls platered on it can sell for $2,00 a litre, I'm sure that this pumice can be packaged in a bag with a picture of an idyllic Pacific isle and sold for $25,00 a pound.

    2. Re:$25 a ton by hammeraxe · · Score: 1

      Not sure where you got that price from. If it's actually "consumer grade" (i.e. appropriate for use on skin) you could make a killing making these

    3. Re:$25 a ton by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not sure where you got that price from. If it's actually "consumer grade" (i.e. appropriate for use on skin) you could make a killing making these

      From that amazon page:

      Indications: Hard skin on the feet Remove calluses Remove horny skin Foot massage Natural foot care

      That must have been written by someone with a foot fetish!

    4. Re:$25 a ton by Animats · · Score: 3, Informative

      Not sure where you got that price from.

      USGS Minerals Industry Summary - Pumice. That's the bulk price.

      There are "Trash Hunter boats that could pick up pumice, but they're not intended for remote open-ocean operations. To collect this stuff, it would take booms and ocean-going tugs or fishing boats to concentrate the floating pumice, a collection vessel to pull it out of the water and screen it, and a bulk freighter to haul it to some customer. It's like cleaning up an oil spill, except that it's a solid. It might be desirable to do this if the mess drifts to a populated area.

      Over time, wave action breaks the stuff up, opens the gas pockets that make it float, and it sinks. This takes about a year, so it's not a long term problem. It happens now and then. Known events off Tonga in 1964 and 2002 have been studied. Long-term impact is low; it's hard to tell, a few years later, that it ever happened.

    5. Re:$25 a ton by cffrost · · Score: 1

      Not sure where you got that price from.

      Lake Dredge Appraisal?

      --
      Thank you, Edward Snowden.

      "Arguments from authority are worthless." —Carl Sagan
  23. Tobin's Spirit Guide by sanman2 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Another entry for Tobin's Spirit Guide - the most significant event since the 1908 Tunguska cross-rip.

    1. Re:Tobin's Spirit Guide by Lost+Penguin · · Score: 1

      Tunguska was caused by Tesla.

      --
      I am the unwilling control for my Origin.
  24. WoW expansion pak by pbjones · · Score: 1

    it is a stunt by Blizzard to draw attention to the upcomong expansion pak for WoW, which involves a floating island.

    --
    There was an unknown error in the submission.
  25. Spidermonkey Island? by yodleboy · · Score: 1

    I thought Dr. Doolittle took care of that floating mess.

  26. NZAF Ship?! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The NZAF doesn't have ships they have planes. The Orion is a type of plane. MSNBC made a mistake copying the story.

  27. Faily Fail by Dogtanian · · Score: 3, Funny

    For further terminology bending, the Daily Mail calls it a rock ice-shelf [dailymail.co.uk].

    They then go on to blame it on illegal immigrants and ask if it is likely to affect house prices.

    However, they haven't yet determined whether pumice is the latest miracle food or whether it's this week's innocuous substance that has been found to cause cancer in those gullible enough to believe scaremongering journalism.

    --
    "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
  28. Don't Tell the US Congress by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    If Hank Johnson (US Representative) learns about this, he'll worry about NZ capsizing.

  29. Dharma Initiative by PPH · · Score: 1

    Just enter the code every 108 minutes and we'll all be OK.

    --
    Have gnu, will travel.
  30. Unlike Guam by Culture20 · · Score: 1

    This island could actually tip over unlike Guam.

    1. Re:Unlike Guam by Sussurros · · Score: 1

      I believe you mean Iwo Jima which smells like it's been tipped over.

      --
      I said - don't look Ethel!..., but it was too late..., she'd already looked.
    2. Re:Unlike Guam by Culture20 · · Score: 1

      Nope, Guam.
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1WSs9B4H5s
      http://www.snopes.com/politics/quotes/guamtip.asp
      "Yeah, my fear is that the whole island [Guam] will become so overly populated that it will tip over and capsize." I love the look on the other guy's face, trying not to laugh at a congressman in formal hearings.

  31. Beaches of pum,ice by Sussurros · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I have many years ago seen beaches in New Zealand composed entirely of pumice. I saw them north of Gisborne on the North Island and pumice was quite literally the only thing you could see on the beach and it went at least as deep as my hand. On another small beach nearby the surface was covered entirely by pieces of abalone shell - an ancient Maori midden beach I assume but those beaches are all deserted and there's no-one around to ask.

    --
    I said - don't look Ethel!..., but it was too late..., she'd already looked.
  32. OMG do something ! by Dolphinzilla · · Score: 0

    Quick - something from the earth is oozing out and polluting the ocean - we must find a big corporation to blame. We must mobilize the media to identify the culprit and immediately begin aid operations to the millions of people and fish that will be affected by this disaster

  33. beauty and work by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Pumice is still a way to use labor, apart from smoothing the skin, eg bricolaje for processing through mixing jeans

  34. Remember the Jap Tsunami? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Remember when people commented that the debris from the tsunami was bringing along marine life from different parts of the world and mixing them up and possibly creating long term problems?

    Well, hopw about these natual floating debris? Don't they do the same thing?

    So mother nature does like to mix up marine life around sometimes. It's not just us humans which are making it happen.

    1. Re:Remember the Jap Tsunami? by Froeschle · · Score: 1

      Someone really ought to call the authorities about this and find whoever is to blame then arrest them then send then to GITMO for ecological terrorism! God bless America.

  35. Re:Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fht by j-pimp · · Score: 1

    An island rising in the south Pacific can mean only one thing!

    Lex Luthor finally gotten rid of that pesky illegal immigrant and can continue his real estate development!

    --
    --- Justin Dearing http://www.justaprogrammer.net/ We're just programmers.
  36. Cthulhu's loofah? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    He'll come looking for it, so watch out.