Australian beaches closed due to mysterious balls

Strange balls have appeared on the shores of at least nine Australian beaches, prompting indefinite closures in Manly, Dee Why, Long Reef, Queenscliff, Freshwater, North Steyne, North Narrabeen, and North and South Curl Curl.

The marble-sized balls were grayish in color. Though the origin of the balls remains a mystery, a spokesperson for Sydney Water told The Guardian that the balls are believed to be "grease balls." Presumably, those means balls made out of grease that clumped together in the ocean, rather than, you know, just being some greasy balls. The Northern Beaches Council, meanwhile, said that they "don't know what they [the balls] actually are."

According to The Independent, this is not the first beach invasion of mystery balls in recent Australian memory:

Last October, a number of beaches, including the iconic Bondi east of downtown Sydney, were closed to visitors after small black balls washed up on the shore.

They were initially reported to be "tar balls" of crude oil but tests later revealed that they were blobs of human-generated waste.

The EPA found that the balls were formed of fatty acids, petroleum hydrocarbons and other organic and inorganic materials, and contained traces of drugs, hair, motor oil, food waste, animal matter, and human faeces.

"Mysterious greasy balls" doesn't quite do that justice.

Mystery balls close nine northern Sydney beaches months after fatbergs washed ashore [Catie McLeod / The Guardian]

Mysterious marble-sized balls washing up on Sydney beaches baffle authorities [Shweta Sharma / The Independent]