A man from Arkansas received an unexpected package of seeds and made a 'crazy' discovery.
As if the world couldn't have gotten any stranger in 2020 with everyone plummeted into lockdown amid the coronavirus pandemic, packets of seeds began turning up unannounced at people's houses in the US.
Sent from China, one of the mysterious packages ended up at the house of Arkansas man Doyle Crenshawn, who went ahead and planted the seeds not realising citizens had been warned against doing so by government officials.
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Prepare yourself for how the seeds turned out:
Crenshawn said he received a package which 'said it was from China' and was labelled as being 'studded earrings' opposed to seeds.
"We thought that was a little odd," he told 5News at the time.
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Despite the mystery surrounding what the seeds could be, Crenshawn decided to plant them anyway out of curiosity.
Little did he realise that shortly after he planted them, authorities would speak out in warning, telling people not to plant the seeds due to concerns they could be an invasive species.
Scott Bray of the Arkansas Department of Agriculture explained why there were concerns about the seeds.
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At the time, he said: "Our concern is from an invasive-pest aspect; these seeds could introduce an invasive weed or an invasive insect pest or a plant disease."
But the warning was far too late for Crenshawn's seeds, which 'started growing like crazy' when he put some 'Miracle-Gro' on them every ' two weeks'.
While it’s still unknown what exactly the plant is, Crenshawn’s boasted large white fruits and orange flowers, which some compared to a squash plant.
But how did the seeds come to fall into Crenshawn's possession in the first place?
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Well, Whitehouse Police Department took to its Facebook page in an update to reveal they believe the packages and seeds were part of something known as a 'brushing scam'.
In the post, the department explained a brushing scam is 'an exploit by a vendor used to bolster product ratings and increase visibility online by shipping an inexpensive product to an unwitting receiver and then submitting positive reviews on the receiver’s behalf under the guise of a verified owner'.
They added: "Although not directly dangerous, we would still prefer that people contact us to properly dispose of the seeds."
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Arkansas wasn’t the only state to have seen the odd packages. Some 27 states including Washington, Colorado, Kentucky, Nevada and Texas, reported people received such packages they had not ordered.
Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services reported they had received over 900 emails from people who had the packages delivered to them.
At the time, people were advised not open the packages and to contact the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Anti-Smuggling hotline at 1-800-877-3835 for additional guidance.
Poppy Bilderbeck