Garfield-shaped phones have been washing up on French shores for 45 years (photo)

Orange phones in the shape of Garfield the cat and their parts have been washing up on the shores of France's Brittany region since the 1980s. This bizarre phenomenon has attracted the attention of locals and environmentalists for decades. The story was highlighted once again in a new documentary released on June 19, 2026.

For a long time, the origin of the phones remained a mystery. Then, in 2019, a local farmer named René Morvan stated that in the 1980s, during his childhood, he had seen the remains of a container filled with phones inside a cave on the coast after a severe storm. Following this, environmentalists inspected the cave and found more than 20 intact Garfield phones and various parts of them.

As it turned out, the cargo container carrying the phones was lost at sea decades ago. Over time, the phones inside were gradually washed out of the cave by the action of the waves and drifted ashore.

Garfield phones are still being featured in materials about the area in 2026. The creators of the new documentary explored the events surrounding the shores of Brittany, local collectors, and activists who have been gathering the phones over the years.

Thus, the consequences of cargo lost at sea in the 1980s have been visible on the French coast for nearly 45 years. The incident also demonstrates that plastic and electronic waste discarded into the sea can persist in nature for decades.