Usually when you lower cameras into sewers and slide down manholes, it’s fairly predictable what you’re going to find, but sometimes you stumble across some crazy — and sometimes scary — underground finds.

You all have a story to tell about the out-of-the-ordinary objects recovered from pipelines and sewers. Here are some of the most off-the-wall discoveries drain cleaning and plumbing contractors have found: 

1. Bus-sized lump of fat.

Yes, you read that correctly. A crew in England removed a 15-ton lump of food fat and wet wipes — dubbed the “fatberg” — from a sewer line. It took three nights for an eight-man crew to clean up and remove the mound using shovels and waterjetting.

Read more about the 15-ton "fatberg."

2. Slithery creatures.

We recently posted a blog about a nest of 12 snakes discovered during a CCTV inspection by a contractor in Wenatchee, Wash.

Take a look at the CCTV footage supplied by the contractor. The snakes appear around the 3:15 mark as the camera tilts to the left. 

3. Money and jewelry.

These two treasures are probably some of the best things to find — this blog includes both. A cleaning crew in England found a pot of gold jewelry — necklaces, rings, watches and earrings. In Florida, a plumber came across $20,000 in foil-wrapped packs of cash.

Find out why these examples highlight the value of honesty and deservedly cast a positive light on contractors and municipal workers.  

4. Beds.

OK, this isn’t really a discovery, per se, but it’s still pretty cool. Repurposed drainpipes formed a newly designed hotel in northern Austria. Dasparkhotel is a “collection of five freestanding cylindrical rooms made from repurposed metropolitan drainage pipes.”

Take a look at these underground sleeping quarters.

5. People.

This is a more somber discovery. An emergency crew in China was called to an apartment complex last year in Jinhua City, Zhejiang province, after residents reported hearing a baby’s cries coming through the toilet drain in their fourth-floor apartment. Crew workers pulled a two-day-old baby from a 4-inch drainline.

Read more about this near fatal story. 

Think you can beat a bus-sized lump of fat? What’s the craziest thing you’ve found in a sewer line or manhole? Post a comment below.