What is… The Weird Thing? It can be seen bobbing up and down in the water just off Duluth’s Lakewalk, between Fitger’s and the Vietnam Memorial. Could it be… the 125-year-old ruins of Duluth’s first breakwater wall? Spoiler Alert:

Yes. Two of these walls were built in the pre-canal days. I have dived the second one extensively, and I knew the first was close by somewhere… The Weird Thing is a piece that has come loose. As the video shows, it is still spiked down at one end, allowing it to move up and down in the waves as if on a hinge. Old cribbing like this comprises the building blocks of the outer harbor. Depth shown: 10-12 feet.