Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson have been slimed. A mysterious black slime has been steadily oozing over Washington DC's most famous monuments, including the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials. The Jefferson Memorial's white marble dome is slowly turning gray from the icky substance, which is called biofilm, and not actually a slime, but more of a powder, reports CBS News. The black stuff has also creeped over the Arlington National Cemetery and on the Washington Monument and the tombstones at Congressional Cemetery, according to NPS.gov.
'It’s called slime, but when you touch it, it’s dry; it doesn’t come off on your fingers,' noted CBS News’ Mark Albert when he visited the area.
Because of its dryness, it's even more difficult to clean off, said Mike Litterst of the National Park Service.
All biofilm, which is a colony of microscopic organisms, really needs to grow is nutrients and a surface such as stone. Many famous monuments all over the world have the same issue.
Rain can cause pits to form in smooth stone surfaces over time, creating the perfect petrie dish for the slime.
But getting rid of it isn't as easy as soap and water.
'Treatment of biofilm is difficult, as there is no known permanent method for removing it, and we have to ensure that any treatment must not do further damage to the soft marble of the memorial nor encourage further growth,' Catherine Dewey, chief of resource management for National Mall and Memorial Parks, told NPS.
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Poster Comment:
Well.... heh.... count the historical, socio-political implications. That's all I'll say.