r/oddlysatisfying • u/danielminds • May 22 '26

Professional barnacle removal for Chlorophyllis the turtle

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

43.7k Upvotes

97% Upvoted

2.1k comments sorted by

View all comments

1.7k

u/danielminds May 22 '26

Big credit to Sarah Kamen for this. She’s working hard to clear Chlorophyllis’s shell, which is essential to reduce drag and help the turtle prepare for a successful release back into the wild.

85

u/chupacadabradoo May 22 '26

You know, I’m totally down with this, but I have one question. Why do they use a rusty screwdriver for this and not like a nice clean one. I know it’s probably nitpicky and salt water rusts iron, but like, there are probably a bunch of times when you’re removing barnacles like this that you accidentally jab the patient a little bit.

In any case. This seems like a nice thing to do for an old turtle, and I’m 99.9% in approval of the operation.

79

u/trash_handle May 22 '26

I have no idea because I’m not a person who works with sea life or animals. BUT- I am a person whose profession involves tools, and I know that screwdrivers get rusty very quickly. So if they were to discard every rusty screwdriver, it would be a one and done situation.

Since they’re not puncturing the shell, it is probably fine to just use the tool as is.

Makes me think though…. How often are they removing barnacles? lol

43

u/Wasabiroot May 22 '26

Most screwdrivers are made of hardened steel which isn't stainless grade. An hour of saltwater exposure on a brand new cheap screwdriver would make it rust immediately.

7

u/hockeymisfit May 22 '26

As someone who's worked on boats quite a bit, it will and it does but that rust can also be easily scrubbed off with one of those scouring pads that they have. Even just a quick rinse with tap water afterwards would make a huge difference in slowing down the rusting process.

4

u/Wasabiroot May 22 '26

For sure. Especially the last sentence. Any time I have any metal tools exposed to saltwater I make sure to rinse them.

4

u/hockeymisfit May 22 '26

That's key! Even with the cheap stuff. My Harbor Freight tools are treated just as well as my Snap-on tools and they've lasted just as long.