A light pole mysteriously collapsed in Japan months ago and police say they finally know who (or what) is to blame: dog pee.
The 21-foot pole snapped at its base and was found lying in the bushes of a parking lot in the city of Suzuka on February 18.
Watch NBC6 free wherever you are
WATCH HEREThe were no apparent issues with the quality or installation of the pole, according to The Mainichi, one of Japan’s largest daily news outlets.
The average lifespan for light poles in the country is around 50 years, but the pole collapsed 23 years after it was installed on the street in 1997.
Get local news you need to know to start your day with NBC 6's News Headlines newsletter.
SIGN UP
So, what caused the steel traffic light pole to snap?
The police department reported in July that forensic scientists detected 40 times more urea at the bottom of the pole compared to the amount found in other nearby poles.
The traffic light was installed along a path that is popular among dog walkers, so authorities said it is highly possible that the combination of urea and sodium found in dog urine caused the pole to erode.
U.S. & World
Officials are now encouraging pet owners to take their dogs to urinate elsewhere, in hopes of preventing this from happening again. The pole has since been replaced, but police have reportedly confirmed dogs have already begun to mark their territory on the newly installed pole.
Oddly enough, this is not the first report of dog pee causing a pole to erode and snap in Japan.
In 2016, the same newspaper reported that an iron light pole collapsed in Osaka and crushed a 10-year-old girl’s hand. A city government investigation found that dog urine was to blame.
