The New Jersey town of Old Bridge gained national attention earlier this month due to a viral tweet about the mysterious appearance of several large piles of seemingly cooked pasta along the banks of the Iresick Brook. The roughly 500 pounds of spaghetti, macaroni, and alphabet noodles, was stumbled upon by town employees. 

This left many people, Old Bridge locals and Twitter users alike, wondering who dumped these noodles and why. Many were confused about who would take the time to cook all that pasta before discarding it in the woods, but apparently the noodles were dumped dry and softened by heavy rains over the weekend. 

Fortunately for those who were curious, local sources believe they have identified the source of the pasta as a local man who was cleaning out his recently deceased mother’s house, including her stockpile of assorted pasta shapes. The Old Bridge Police Department may be looking into this, as it was an illegal dump. The piles were able to be removed in a couple of hours by members of the public works department. 

For some residents of Old Bridge, such as Nina Jochnowitz, this incident brings to light a bigger issue–Old Bridge’s lack of public bulk garbage disposal. Jochnowitz told NPR, “The story really is about the fact that in Old Bridge, we do not have bulk garbage pickup. It has been a point of contention for the entire time I’ve lived in this town –23 years.”

Luckily for the carb-unloading perpetrator though, the town regarded this issue as no harm no foul, and the mayor is urging the police department to drop the issue.

“It certainly shouldn’t have ended up in the woods… but I certainly hope our police are not putting more time into this,” Mayor Owen Henry has stated.