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Beached barnacles

On the Scilly Isles, Bill Oddie comes across something unusual washed up on the shore. From a distance it looks like a beached shark, but it is in fact a huge piece of driftwood covered in goose barnacles. This is the first time Bill has seen goose barnacles, because they are usually deep underwater. The barnacles are still alive, so haven't been washed up for long. Their name comes from their shape, which resembles the neck and head of a goose. In past times people thought that migrating geese actually spent the summer hiding under the sea, and that these barnacles were their babies.

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2 minutes

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