Tech: A truck crash set 7,500 pounds of slime eels loose on an Oregon highway, covering it in goo

A truck carrying 7,500 pounds of hagfish — or slime eels — tipped over while trying to make a stop.

If you thought your commute was bad Thursday, it probably wasn't as bad as what people dealt with while driving along a coastal highway in Depoe Bay, Oregon.

A truck carrying 7,500 pounds of hagfish — or slime eels — tipped over while trying to make a stop, tossing containers of slime-covered prehistoric fish all over Highway 101, according to The New York Times.

Only minor injuries were reported.

The eels were being transported to South Korea, where they're sometimes considered a delicacy, The New York Times reported.

Check out the scene below.

Depoe Bay Fire District announced around 1:50pm PST that Highway 101 "just got slimed" on Twitter. The pictures really speak for themselves.

These slimy creatures are "hagfish", or "slime eels", which produce slime to protect themselves when stressed. They have remained virtually unchanged as a species for the last 300 million years.

Source: New York Times

Oregon State Police asked the question we're all wondering.

You should toss your clothes out if they've been exposed, wrote Dr. Andrew Thaler, a deep-sea ecologist and population geneticist, on his website.

Source: New York Times

As you can see, the hagfish don't mess around when producing slime. A “single hagfish can fill a 5-gallon bucket with slime, seemingly instantly,” wrote Thaler.

Source: New York Times

Hoses and bulldozers had to be brought in to clean up the highway mess.

Source: New York Times

The fire department's truck took some slime damage, too.

The lanes were eventually re-opened hours later, but no word on the smell.

This is what the hagfish looks like in its natural habitat.

Here's the Smithsonian Channel telling you everything you don't want to know about the hagfish. Do not watch if you have a weak stomach.

A truck carrying 7,500 pounds of hagfish — or slime eels — tipped over while trying to make a stop. Read Full Story