Environmental monitoring stations along the San Francisco Bay, established in the early 1970s, contain curious data gaps corresponding to specific dates. Research hydrologist Dr. Michael Chen examined historical sediment samples from the Golden Gate Bridge region and noted anomalous nitrogen concentrations that defied standard watershed analysis.

Chen's published paper tentatively attributed the spikes to "point-source contamination of unusually high concentration," but his field notes revealed he had considered other hypotheses. An interview conducted thirty years after his research suggested he believed he was documenting something far more mundane yet simultaneously implausible—evidence of human excretion at scale so enormous it registered as environmental contamination. He never published this hypothesis, but researchers familiar with his data acknowledge the readings remain inexplicable through conventional limnology models.