A truly impastable-seeming bit of mischief was recently discovered in the Garden State.
On April 27, a set of images by community leader Nina Jochnowitz, appeared in a private Facebook group for residents of Old Bridge, New Jersey, and have since spread across the internet. The photos, which were later posted to a public Facebook group called “Old Bridge Parents 2.0,” depicts a bizarre instance of illegal dumping in Veterans Park.
“The Mayor and his (posse) continue to ignore the Sixth Ward. No surprise when we see the dumping of construction and other garbage spewed in all of the neighborhoods,” reads the public post by Jochnowitz. “This week, there was a new type of dumping, of excessive food, PASTA.”
The images show literal mounds of spaghetti, elbow macaroni and ziti strewn about the vegetation in the park. And it was just plain pasta — no sauce, no Parmesan and no meatballs, either.
The post then goes on to estimate that “more than 500 pounds of pasta” was dumped near streams in the park.
Still, even though the post is only truly relevant for surrounding residents and potential visitors to the park, the strange nature of the news caused it to quickly go viral, flooding TikTok, Twitter and Reddit like marinara.
“Someone very mysteriously dumped 3-400 pounds of pasta in the woods in old bridge, nj …… i need to know everything,” Twitter user @worrystonee wrote.
Screenshots of Jochnowitz’s private group posting were also shared to Reddit.
“An estimated 300-400 lbs of pasta was mysteriously dumped alongside a creek near Veterans Park in Old Bridge last week,” Redditor u/stormborn72 wrote in the r/newjersey subreddit, mirroring Jochnowitz’s initial estimate. (Whether it was 300 pounds or 500, everyone can agree it was a lot.)
“I’m sure the comments will not disappoint,” the post continues. “Only in NJ.”
Like clockwork, folks across social media took the bit of illegal dumping as an opportunity to sharpen their pun-making skills. It seems people aren’t alfredo making light of the situation.
“We should send the perpetrators to the state penne tentiary,” joked one Reddit user.
“The police won’t stop until the perpetrator is aldente-fied,” added another Redditor.
“There’s carb-loading, and then there’s carb unloading,” tweeted a one person. “Either way, this is pasta point of no return.”
“Sounds like the work of Rig-a-Tony!” a Redditor wrote, to which another replied, “He was actually framed…orzo I’m told…”
When reached for comment, a representative for Old Bridge Township confirmed to TODAY.com that there was in fact pasta dumped in the park.
“On April 28, 2023 pictures of illegally dumped pasta started to circulate on several local Facebook groups,” Himanshu Shah, business administrator for Old Bridge Township, tells TODAY.com in an email, claiming that the Township didn’t receive any calls or reports from residents and only found out about the pasta through the Facebook posts.
“DPW visited the site and did in fact find what appeared to be 15 wheel barrel loads of illegal dumped pasta along a creek in a residential neighborhood,” Shah says, adding that the Public Works contacted local police.
Officers then took a report of the incident, and two public works employees cleaned the area. Shah says they were able to load all of the pasta in under an hour.
“We would estimate several hundred pounds of uncooked pasta that was removed from the packaging and then dumped along the creek,” Shah added. “It looks like it was only there for a short time but moisture did start to soften some of the pasta.”
Some neighbors who think they've solved the macaroni mystery told NBC News New York that the pasta was likely dumped by a man who was cleaning out his deceased mother's home in the area.
“I mean, I really feel like he was just trying to clear out his parents’ house and they were probably stocked up from COVID,” neighbor Keith Rost told NBC New York, suggesting that it was a generational predilection. “My grandparents always had a cupboard full of cans and pasta, just to be safe.”
The pastabilities are endless.
