An unusual road accident put traffic to a complete halt today on the E6 highway outside Strömstad on the Swedish west coast.
A truck loaded with sill herring offal dropped its smelly cargo after a tailgate had opened up as the truck passed over a speed bump. The fish offal flew out of the truck and into the grill of a passing truck, causing a complete engine failure.
No one was injured, says SOS Alarm, the Swedish Emergency Service, but the Swedish road administration expects the clean-up work to take several hours.
Herring
Herring is a fairly small oily fish native to shallow parts of the North Atlantic and Pacific Ocean, including the Baltic Sea. Herring has been an important part of Swedish cuisine for thousands of years and the fish is still served year round. Herring becomes especially sough after around Christmas and Midsummer when it is served in its traditional pickled fashion and chased down with hard liquor made from grain or potatoes. Herring caught in the Baltic Sea can also be fermented for 6 to 12 months to produce surströmming. Several airlines have banned canned of surströmming on their flights, deeming the pressurized containers a safety hazard.