Are Italian Eels Coke Addicted Fiends?

Probably not, but there’s a group of European scientists who have nothing better to do than spend a bunch of money trying to make sure.

The scientists have found that a lot of what we throw out is ending up inside the animals that populate the oceans. One of the biggest culprits are those stupid plastic microbeads that you think are natural bits of magic, exfoliating your skin. Fish are eating those little beads once they reach the oceans, along with tons of other crap… that apparently includes cocaine.

As it turns out, there is around 15 grams of cocaine being dumped into Italy’s Sarno river each day. To see if this is effecting the European eels that inhabit the waters there, scientists are taking captive eels and exposing them to a slightly lower concentration of cocaine in the lab.

Shockingly, they report that the eels are “hyperactive compared to the other groups.”

Unfortunately, it does look like there are a couple other issues popping up, including a change in mucus production that makes it harder for the eels to recognize sexual partners. The good news is that they are so coked up, their little eel penises probably wouldn’t work anyways.

Source: Inhabitat