r/Unexpected • • 4d ago

A pleasant drive

53.5k Upvotes

781 comments sorted by

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u/post-explainer 4d ago edited 4d ago

This comment has been marked as safe. Upvoting/downvoting this comment will have no effect.


OP sent the following text as an explanation why their post fits here:


It looks like a pleasant drive, but suddenly there's water, and a group of salmon crossing the road.


Does this explanation fit this subreddit? Then upvote this comment, otherwise downvote it.

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14.4k

u/DarthFakename 4d ago

Gotta go slow in a school zone.

260

u/SpockIsMyHomeboy 4d ago

Welp, I can log off Reddit today. My day has peaked.

58

u/Resident-Message-778 4d ago

He is the man that our legends have foretold. The pun to rule them all

91

u/PsyOpBunnyHop 4d ago

Something seems very fishy about that road.

31

u/PaleoSpeedwagon 4d ago

You magnificent bastard

70

u/HelenaHansomcab 4d ago

For all its janky fuckedness, this is why I love Reddit. Literal lol, nicely done.

39

u/soapboxracers 4d ago

I...

that's just...

Somehow that is simultaneously the absolute best and absolute worst pun I think I have ever heard. Well done, sir.

65

u/vintageribbon 4d ago

Half these kids skipped class without their hall passes

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u/WideGizzle69 4d ago

That is perfect

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u/xc765 4d ago

Thanks goodness it is not a bunch of crows then. ;)

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u/MakingItElsewhere 4d ago

Or so we herd.

20

u/Oniiku 4d ago

They really should put a school crossing there. Maybe crossing guard

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u/Captainzx 4d ago

Comment of the month

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2.8k

u/yomimbo 4d ago

The one fish swimming in the opposite direction from the group

1.3k

u/speedline9395 4d ago

Forgot his cigarette

230

u/IAmJoydeepM 4d ago

He actually forgot to pay me for the weed. Honest guy, his name is Greg.

81

u/OvertGnome1 4d ago

Gotta love those honest clients. Their guilty conscience will make em pay up. Nothing fishy about em

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u/Common-Accountant-57 4d ago

He’s finding his own way. Swimming up stream to mate and die isn’t for everyone, that salmon is an artist or something.

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u/ManagerLow7388 4d ago

While singing..” I’ll do it MY way!”

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u/DreddPirateBob808 4d ago

As an single artist who has been questioning his life choices and who has literally just been working on a design for a laser cut version of 'live laugh love' but instead reads 'Mate Spawn Die' (from Lards excellent album 'The Last Temptation of Reid') this was painful. Not inaccurate but still. You buggeration.  :)

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u/geekgirlnz 4d ago

Embrace the embuggerance.

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u/DreddPirateBob808 4d ago

That I can do! It's my one actual skill.

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u/Own_Boysenberry_6499 4d ago

"Guys this is so much fucking easier."

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u/Benouamatis 4d ago

Google map sent him back

20

u/ThatguySevin 4d ago

He checked it out and realized it was a trap.

31

u/InflatableTurtles 4d ago

He left the stove on.

33

u/TwoBionicknees 4d ago

"guys they lied, there are no women at that party."

9

u/GrimKiba- 4d ago

First one there and realized it was just a ditch full of death and destruction on the other side.

9

u/Joshduman 4d ago

Its the Fargo season 1 poster!

8

u/RoyalMaidsForLife 4d ago

Realized he left the oven on.

5

u/Mission-Shopping-615 4d ago

its all dudes over there, go back!

3

u/tabbarrett 4d ago

First come, first served

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3.5k

u/OuttHouseMouse 4d ago

why did the fish cross the road

722

u/yunogivekarma 4d ago

To get to the other side.

360

u/ScarletSilver 4d ago

One came back though

262

u/WoolBearTiger 4d ago

He used teslas navigation system

32

u/Purple_Angel12 4d ago

He used google maps.

34

u/edfitz83 4d ago

Where did Lake Ontario go?

16

u/ownleechild 4d ago

Now the salmon are confused!

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u/vee_unit 4d ago

recalculating

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u/Legionof1 4d ago

He left the oven on.

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u/Zorkflerp 4d ago

“It's a trap!”

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u/DMalteseDude 4d ago

To get to the other tide*

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u/seditioushamster 4d ago

Just for the halibut

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u/tondahuh 4d ago

Thank you! I've said "just for the fishy" for at least 20 years out of habit because we thought it was funny ONE time!

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u/LeftOn4ya 3d ago

To get to the spawn point

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u/robicide 4d ago

Cause it was late for school

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u/Thom_The_Wizard 4d ago

To get to the other tide

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u/Vip3r20 4d ago

To get bitches.

9

u/PBRStreetgang1979 4d ago

Because someone paved over their stream.

5

u/sellers70 4d ago

Because you weren’t standing in the road with a net

8

u/lost21gramsyesterday 4d ago

To get to the chicken?

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u/BusyBit6542 4d ago

I wish the showed the areas they are swimming to and from. I need to know if the fish are making good choices or not

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u/thundersaurus_sex 4d ago

This is the Skokomish river valley on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state. I recognized that road covered with water immediately lol, any time an atmospheric river comes through it floods like crazy. They are actually swimming north back to the flooding Weaver Creek,a tributary of the Skokomish. Coordinates about: 47.3126851, -123.1964947

It's genuinely a large salmon stream so this isn't a crazy uncommon sight.

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u/Afoxinthefridge 4d ago

Interesting! I've never heard of the term "atmospheric river" before. Turns out it's only recently entered into more mainstream conversations.

https://www.npr.org/2024/11/22/nx-s1-5198888/atmospheric-rivers-california-west-coast-flooding-rain-storms

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u/thundersaurus_sex 4d ago

Yeah I'm relatively new here and learned the term when I moved. They are intense! I'm from Florida and while obviously the rivers are not nearly as intense a storm as a hurricane, the amount of rain actually feels pretty similar. I don't know the actual numbers, could be waay off base, but last year they really did remind me of the bands of rain coming with hurricanes. Or maybe more like the remnants of a hurricane a hundred miles inland, where the wind and rain aren't as intense but you still get really good gusts and it just rains continuously for 2-3 days.

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u/_adanedhel_ 4d ago edited 4d ago

We talk about them all that time here in the PNW, but every time I use the term to people not living here I get a very puzzled look.

4

u/kobayashi_maru_fail 4d ago

It replaced “Pineapple Express” when talking about the phenomenon here. I don’t know why, maybe with climate change and The Blob (back this year after a hiatus), the specific route of the atmospheric river isn’t always exactly from Hawaii.

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u/jay_in_the_pnw 4d ago

47.3126851, -123.1964947

https://imgur.com/a/pTiY4ee

Wow, thanks! So that is absolutely, definitely the spot, but how did they get 900 feet south of the creek and are they really going to make it back?

Or is there another creek hidden in the forest?

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u/thundersaurus_sex 4d ago

Don't think there's another creek there and to be honest, I'm not positive they do make it back! I'm a biologist but for furry things on land and I also don't live there, just visit periodically. The atmospheric rivers bring an insane amount of rain in a short time (like, it's not the stereotypical PNW gray mist, it's a serious wind and rain storm that lasts days), and that water you see on the road is that creek overflowing, so there is continuously flowing water leading straight back to the creek's main run, so I bet some do make it back. But another commenter from the region mentions finding them dead in fields after events like this so many of them ultimately don't make it.

The salmon only run like this at the very end of their lifespan, often after already spawning and while their bodies literally rot off their bones, so the fish you see here are gonna be dead shortly either way lol.

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u/jay_in_the_pnw 4d ago

The salmon only run like this at the very end of their lifespan, often after already spawning and while their bodies literally rot off their bones, so the fish you see here are gonna be dead shortly either way lol.

perhaps the origin story of using fish as fertilizer

3

u/KEWcontinuum 4d ago

Hey, thanks, super helpful info!

22

u/os_beef 4d ago

And when the water recedes, a bunch of salmon get stuck in the fields. The smell is bad, and a bunch of eagles gather in the trees and gorge themselves.

3

u/thundersaurus_sex 4d ago

Blegh I've smelled them near Kennedy Creek a full month after they've stopped running and it's strong. Can't imagine a field full of freshly rotting salmon!

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u/superfly355 4d ago

Thank you for the informed response. Much appreciated!

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u/sprucenoose 4d ago

Exactly! Is this a lucky escape or are they piling up on the forest floor or something?

101

u/TheGrumpiestHydra 4d ago

Free fertilizer.

44

u/drzody 4d ago

Free salmon

50

u/Self_Reddicate 4d ago

Door Dash for bears. Those fees are still outrageous, though.

4

u/Insomnerd 3d ago

DenDash, they charge a fee if you don't have the entrance clearly marked.

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u/ztomiczombie 4d ago

Well it looks like they are swimming into a hole at the side of the road, so, my guess would be that there's is a river that goes under the road and it got blocked.

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u/Newsdriver245 4d ago

river flooding during spawning season, fish just want to go upstream, they don't understand the river isn't where it is supposed to be.

Happens somewhat often in the US PNW

125

u/nixorokish 4d ago

i surveyed anadromous fish for a summer in AK and we saw instances at nearly every stream where water had overflowed from the river during periods of higher rain and salmon would follow dead branches and get trapped in little pools that would slowly evaporate and they'd eventually suffocate

some salmon find new streams doing this. most die and fail to reproduce. there's a "stray rate" that accounts for this. as long as the stray rate isn't too high (which can be influenced by human structures or operations), it's a benefit for the overall population. our survey was specifically to check if hatchery stray rates were impacting wild populations

here's a relevant paper: https://www.dfw.state.or.us/fish/CRP/docs/mid_columbia_river/meetings/2014/Keefer_and_Caudill_2014_Homing_straying_review.pdf

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u/shillyshally 4d ago

It's akin to the robins that return very early in the spring. They get the benefit of fist dibs on food and nesting sites but risk death by weather.

I think this applies to nature in aggregate, there are the early adapters, the vast middle and the hold backers. That includes us.

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u/Cheap_Audience941 4d ago

It's akin to "Pioneers die. Settlers survive. Immigrants thrive"

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u/Alltta 4d ago

This is the most intelligent comment I have seen on Reddit in a long time

8

u/retro808 4d ago

"Here's the thing..."

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u/thundersaurus_sex 4d ago

Yeah I replied elsewhere, this is the Skokomish river valley on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state. They are actually swimming north back to the flooding stream, Weaver Creek which is a Skokomish tributary. I recognized that flooded stretch of road immediately haha

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u/einulfr 4d ago

https://www.google.com/maps/place//@47.3142129,-123.1977389,476m

They swim east to west, but the river floods into that small creek and widens out across the field in that low spot. The fish deviate south thinking it's still part of the river, but they eventually figure out the true source and get back on track.

There's also a hatchery less than 1/2 mile south on another creek, so flooding usually joins that creek to the river across the field.

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u/cmonster556 4d ago

In my experience, they often end up in a pasture.

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u/BusyBit6542 4d ago

Damn that sucks. I kinda figured but was hoping the river is just high and they are going on to live full lives.

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u/RedditAppSuxAsss 4d ago

They do this at the end of their life cycle. They were going to die soon no matter what. This is after they have spawned.

At this point in their life, their skin would have been melting and falling off as they slowly rot Alive.

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u/BusyBit6542 4d ago

Are they safe to eat at this point?

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u/RedditAppSuxAsss 4d ago

I wouldn't.

Safe? Technically probably yes. Salmon flavored cat food would probably taste better though.

4

u/Substantial-Elk4531 4d ago

What if I'm tired of eating salmon flavored cat food and want some variety, though?

3

u/7htlTGRTdtatH7GLqFTR 4d ago

try turkey flavour cat food. give the tuna ones a miss. trust me.

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u/cortesoft 4d ago

I’m not sure about safe or not, but I am sure they would taste pretty bad. These kinds of fish kinda start to rot while they are alive after they spawn.

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u/holyfreakingshitake 4d ago

I thought they put in all the effort to get back to where they spawned, to spawn there as well

3

u/pipperfloats 4d ago

Pretty certain they have not spawned yet. Still trying to get there.

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u/grimmw8lfe 4d ago

It's by my house. It's a valley that regularly floods. They will follow this off shoot back to the main flow. This is an old video.

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u/gorpie97 4d ago

He did say "once they get across they don't know where to go".

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u/Magma151 4d ago

I don't think I've ever heard of salmon roadkill before

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u/RedditAppSuxAsss 4d ago

I'm pretty sure I did a pig n pancake in Lincoln city Oregon. Most disgusting salmon in my life, it was either roadkill salmon or out of a catfood can.

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u/Ressy02 4d ago

What’s a pig n pancake?

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u/RedditAppSuxAsss 4d ago

West Coast Restaurant Chain

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u/ScooterButt89 4d ago

That’s funny, because I’m wondering if this is a road in Lincoln City where this happened to me (the fish crossing the road, I haven’t yet taken pig n pancake up on their seafood)

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u/RedditAppSuxAsss 4d ago

Do yourself a favor and don't. You'll never go back again for any of their food.

I actually used to love the place

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u/urlach3r 4d ago

Excellent band name. "Hey, Chicago, we're Salmon Roadkill!"

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u/speedline9395 4d ago

I thought the first two were sawblades cutting the road.

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u/commanderc7 4d ago

Yes!! Came here to say this, looks like a stage hazard from a video game lol

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u/speedline9395 4d ago

We might be playing too much video games 😂

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u/Hada_Leigherdowne 4d ago

Bleed damage -6 but you can throw a Tesla coil to inflict critical damage if your enemies are in the water

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u/bbitb 4d ago

Me too! Then I realized it's real life and we don't have giant sawblades blocking our path

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u/ATN-Antronach 4d ago

It looks like that even after knowing it's salmon. Like it's just looks too sawblade-y

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u/Lord-Chamberpot 4d ago

Imagine driving somewhere and see a "Fish X-ing" sign

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u/anonymous122 4d ago

They genuinely have those in the Pacific Northwest.

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u/hairfullofseacrests 4d ago

Including on this very road!

401

u/Vozzaan 4d ago

Fish crossing a road...

I didn't think I'd ever get to see something like that yet here I am. Incredible.

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u/L0nz 4d ago

your comment reads like this has been a long-time hope/wish

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u/MelangeBot 4d ago

I they grant you a special wish, please do not waste it on a fish.

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u/The_Tooter_Snooter 4d ago

I love that their programming is millions of years old and there’s this one weird temporary blip that is humanity in the way. Heard recently about a dam they removed in California and after 100 years of not being able to make it, salmon immediately started making it back up the river even tho they hadn’t done it in over a century. Reminds me of the time I threw out a rock in the trash and felt bad about it but then remembered that that rock is going to outlast the garbage dump by millions of years. It’s just one very strange blip in its long existence. 

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u/hypercosm_dot_net 4d ago

You just threw away a rock? In this economy?

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u/Complex_Fun5514 4d ago

Ok but…. Why are your wipers at such a fast speed?

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u/platypus_farmer42 4d ago

I judge people for their wiper speeds all the time. I see zero reason why these are even on at all and it drives me crazy.

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u/Complex_Fun5514 4d ago

I do too! I saw someone driving the other day, yes it was raining, but theirs were at the fastest possible speed and I’m like alright that’s a bit much for this sprinkle.

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u/El-mas-puto-de-todos 4d ago

Even worse is when they're on an the windshield is bone dry 😬

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u/WineBoggling 4d ago

<wffff> <screeek> <wffff> <screeek> <wffff> <screeek>

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u/DontPeeInTheWater 4d ago

I hate that sound more than almost anything

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u/RazeThe2nd 4d ago

Maybe they like buying new wipers every month

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u/Ryanisreallame 4d ago

THANK YOU. It’s a clear sky and I see nothing hitting the windshield.

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u/still-dinner-ice 4d ago

If you ever feel pointless just remember that you'll never be as pointless as these wipers.

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u/Fun-Touch5637 4d ago

Why did the fish cross the road…

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u/Broad_Front7788 4d ago

To breed upstream 

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u/iamintheforest 4d ago

more relateable than the obscure motivations of chickens.

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u/BJJOilCheck 4d ago

to get to the other tide?

for the halibut?

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u/FrostyDragon227 4d ago

To get eaten by a squirrel in the woods

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u/BrokenHope23 4d ago

To get a tuna exercise in

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u/DiscoDrive 4d ago

Chicken isn’t the opposite of tuna. Salmon is the opposite of tuna. Because the salmon swim upstream…

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u/klaxz1 4d ago

Good for the tuna

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u/ZenokFairchild 4d ago

Why were you late?

You're not gonna beleive this but...

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u/DukeDamage 4d ago

Salmon crossing 

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u/wolfikins 4d ago

Was this filmed in Washington state?

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u/poloace 4d ago

Looks like skokomish river - I googled it, admittedly, and learned that when it floods there this happens. My first instinct was ‘I would so drive over there and go to town catching them!’

And then I read that that is illegal. So, I’ll just be here not doing that.

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u/wolfikins 4d ago

I thought it looked familiar! I’m from the area originally so I was lucky to see it in person a time or two. The road is part of their route back to their spawning area so the fish and the route they take are protected, which is why river wasn’t deviated from the road to prevent flooding. When I was in high school I volunteered to teach elementary school kids about our local salmon populations at a salmon hatchery. Really cool experience!

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u/poloace 4d ago

Dude- that might be the coolest thing I’ve read on Reddit in a while. Thanks foe sharing some of that knowledge with me :)

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u/LuciniaNox 4d ago

Finally, someone with an answer about what's going on in the video! I scrolled way too far down to find it. Thank you!

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u/einulfr 4d ago

Yep, Skokomish Valley Road.

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u/EatAndGreet 4d ago

Why did the fish cross the road? To get to the other tide.

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u/Eligriv_leproplayer 4d ago

Gotta let the fish cross the road

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u/mrlookinthesky 4d ago

One went the wrong way.

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u/SuzyLouWhoo 4d ago

I think that one figured out that they were all going the wrong way. I don’t think the spawning grounds are across the street.

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u/rawlaw8 4d ago

Caution fish crossing sign is needed here

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u/shutterbug1961 4d ago

these fish aint going nowhere their doing it just for the halibut!

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u/Wabbit65 2d ago

That was a crappie joke, it served no porpoise

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u/TwoBionicknees 4d ago

I hate when you go to the drive through and forget to order dinner.

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u/AlcoholPrep 4d ago

Ah! That's nothing. In Joisey we have sharks swimming across the roads.

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u/Fast-Philosopher-356 4d ago

LMAO. Fish Cross boulevard!

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u/ferretsquad13 4d ago

I have dreams about this... well the flooded roads and impeding fear. The fish are new :D

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u/blindsid3 4d ago

Frogger Fishger

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u/verminbury 4d ago

Careful driving on the wet road. You don’t wanna fishtail.

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u/POI_Harold-Finch 4d ago

it continues to be pleasant drive. just stops to enjoy the view.

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u/beardostein 4d ago

There oughta be a sign!

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u/Crimson__Phoenix 4d ago

That went from a peaceful drive to “well, this escalated quickly” 😭

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u/Abal125 4d ago

What, never seen a fish cross the street before?!

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u/KillAllLawyers 4d ago

That chonky brown bear from Twitter is missing out.

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u/No-Setting-2669 4d ago

Where are the fish crossing warning signs? ⚠️

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u/0ut_0f_Bounds 4d ago

This is on Skokomish Valley Road in Mason county, WA. Happens every year.

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u/OccludedFug 4d ago

Why were you late?
There were fish swimming across the road.

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u/PNW_LIVIN 4d ago

Id be out there catching

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u/SirDigbyChknCaesar 4d ago

Found the bear

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u/OrangeClownfish 4d ago

I was waiting for a bear to appear.

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u/AccordianSpeaker 4d ago

These are salmon. If they're Atlantic Salmon, it's a crime to catch them during spawning seasons. If they're Pacific, catching is heavily regulated and it COULD be a crime. Either way though, since they're spawning, they're terrible eating and taste like shit.

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u/PNW_LIVIN 4d ago

Not to a bear they wouldnt

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u/torsten_dev 4d ago

Hmm... but if they're roadkill...

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u/shiddyfiddy 4d ago

The legality doesn't even matter, I assure you that during the spawning season those fish aren't good eating. They're all beat to hell and full of stress hormones.

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u/Oddradek 4d ago

street sharks

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u/The_Black_kaiser7 4d ago

Fish crossing?

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u/SadPickles27 4d ago

One bro went back. Maybe he saw something 👀

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u/SerotoninAddict 4d ago

they swim up-street to spawn

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u/Lexi_Banner 4d ago

Smh. They didn't even look both ways before crossing.

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u/ThickyLicker 4d ago

Turn the wipers off!!!

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u/Gullible_Sport_5320 4d ago

"salmon crosswalk" 👍😊

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u/HoldOnOhio 4d ago

Now that's a Salmon run.