Star jelly is a gelatinous substance sometimes found on grass and less commonly on the branches of trees. According to folklore, it is deposited on the Earth during meteor showers. It is described as a translucent or grayish-white gelatin that tends to evaporate shortly after having "fallen". Explanations have ranged from it being the remains of frogs, toads, or worms, to the byproducts of cyanobacteria, to being the fruiting bodies of jelly fungi or masses of amoeba called slime molds. Nonbiological origins proposed for instances of "star jelly" have included byproducts from industrial production or waste management. Reports of the substance date back to the 14th century and have continued to the present.
An instance of unidentified star jelly on Grimmia pulvinata, a species of moss.
Oviducts of amphibians regurgitated by predators. (The black object in lower left corner is a cluster of eggs.)
Fructification of a slime mold
The false puffball slime mold in its aethalioid jelly phase
The Blob is a 1958 American independent science fiction horror film directed by Irvin Yeaworth and written by Kay Linaker and Theodore Simonson. It stars Steve McQueen and Aneta Corsaut and co-stars Earl Rowe and Olin Howland. It was distributed by Paramount Pictures as a double feature with I Married a Monster from Outer Space.
Theatrical release poster
Drive-in advertisement from 1958 for The Blob and co-feature, I Married a Monster from Outer Space.