SACHA PFEIFFER, HOST:

Finally, the answer to a mystery that captured the attention of a small town in New Jersey and the internet.

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KEITH ROST: I look down, seen alphabets, noodles, spaghetti - probably about 200 pounds.

MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

That is Old Bridge Township resident Keith Rost, talking to NBC 4 New York. Rost was walking through the woods last week when he stumbled on piles and piles of pasta of unknown origin.

PFEIFFER: The Department of Public Works eventually hauled it away. They had to carbo-load it into 15 wheelbarrow trips to clear it all out. They called the job Mission Impastable (ph).

KELLY: Of course they did. As for who dumped the noodles, neighbors now seem to have an idea. Rost, who spoke to NBC 4 New York, said he believes it was a man cleaning out a pantry.

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ROST: I mean, I really feel like he was just trying to clean out his parents' house, and they were probably just stocked up from COVID. They were - it's probably the generation - like, my grandparents always had a cupboard full of cans and pasta and - you know, just to be safe.

PFEIFFER: Another neighbor told NPR that who did it wasn't the point. The township lacks bulk garbage pickup, which could have kept all that pasta out of the woods in the first place. It also could have been donated to a food bank.

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KELLY: You're listening to ALL PASTA CONSIDERED from NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.