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45-543: In 1987, the City of New York found that it had reached its landfill capacity. The city agreed to ship its garbage to Morehead City , North Carolina , where there were plans to convert it into methane . On 22 March 1987, the tugboat Break of Day towed the barge Mobro 4000 and its cargo of over 3,100 tons (2,812 tonnes ) of trash. Chartered by entrepreneur Lowell Harrelson and Long Island mob boss Salvatore Avellino , it set sail on March 22 from Islip, New York , escorted by

90-475: A "stinky crater". After some research, they find a video that reveals the object to be a giant ball of garbage from Old New York, launched into space in 2052. After warning Mayor Poopenmayer, a plan is hatched to destroy the garbage ball. The Planet Express crew is sent on a mission to plant a bomb on the ball. Then, once activated, the bomb will be set to allow the crew twenty-five minutes to escape. Farnsworth also reminds them that if it blew up any time later,

135-538: A dry-bulk facility with a 225,000-ton capacity warehouse and extended open storage facilities. SpaceX fairing recovery vessels Ms. Tree and Ms. Chief utilize the port during launch and fairing recovery operations as a safe harbor in the event of inclement weather at sea or if there is an extended launch delay. Carteret General Hospital in Morehead City is the second largest employer in Carteret County, behind

180-407: A last-ditch effort to redeem himself, Farnsworth comes up with a second plan to save the city: launching a second ball of garbage to bounce against the first one and sending it flying into the sun. Fry leads the city to quickly generate a second ball of garbage, which is fired at the first garbage ball. The rocket flies into the air and hits the other garbage ball, which slingshots around planets into

225-664: A number of famous wrecks, including the German submarine U-352 , discovered in part by the late Morehead resident George Purifoy. Morehead City is home to the Morehead City Marlins of the Coastal Plain League , a collegiate summer baseball league . The Marlins play at O'Neal Field at Big Rock Stadium in Morehead City, and began playing in the 2010 season. Youth sports in Morehead City include Little League Baseball , soccer leagues, and basketball leagues. Morehead City

270-465: A reverse SCUBA suit that allows fish to breathe water while walking about on land, then taunts Farnsworth over his invention from the previous year—the Deathclock. Mortified that he had previously presented the device and forgotten about it, Farnsworth hastily begins drawing on a napkin. He presents the drawing, which depicts a Smelloscope, a device that allows people to smell distant cosmic objects, but

315-614: A shortage of landfill space: almost 3,000 municipal landfills had closed between 1982 and 1987. It triggered much national public discussion about waste disposal, and may have been a factor in increased recycling rates in the late 1980s and after. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists , the Mobro 4000 incident was caused by a combination of poor decision making by local Islip public officials and short-term difficulties triggered by changing environmental regulations . A commemorative T-shirt

360-529: A song about the incident, "Junk Barge", written by Dave Trumfio , in her 1995 album To the Land of Milk and Honey . A children's book about the incident, Here Comes the Garbage Barge , by Jonah Winter , was published in 2010. Another, All That Trash: The Story of the 1987 Garbage Barge and Our Problem with Stuff , by Meghan McCarthy, was published in 2018. Morehead City, North Carolina Morehead City

405-549: A system of alleys forming an "H" shape that enabled businesses and residential homes to be served from the alleys behind them. Morehead City was officially incorporated by the North Carolina Senate in 1860, at which time the total number of households consisted of only 300 individual families. The city continued to prosper until the Civil War , when in 1862 it was occupied by Federal troops. The war disrupted commerce, and

450-523: A tip, flew by helicopter to the coast to investigate. Action News 5 Reporter Susan Brozek broke the story on the 6 p.m. news on 1 April 1987, and North Carolina officials began their own investigation, which resulted in an order for the Mobro to move on. As a result, the state of North Carolina refused to accept the waste. The barge then proceeded along the coast looking for another place to offload and continued to meet stiff resistance. After an 11-day delay,

495-544: Is a port city in Carteret County , North Carolina , United States. The population was 8,661 at the 2010 census . Morehead City celebrated the 150th anniversary of its founding on May 5, 2007. It forms part of the Crystal Coast . By the early 1850s, a group of investors had been formed and incorporated a land development project known as the "Shepard Point Land Company," which purchased 600 acres (2.4 km ) of land on

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540-522: Is humiliated when he smears the drawing. Back at Planet Express, Farnsworth invites everybody to see the Smelloscope that he had constructed last year and also forgotten about. Fry begins smelling objects around the Solar System and quickly discovers a foul-smelling meteor. After calculating its trajectory, Farnsworth announces that the object will collide with New New York City in 72 hours, reducing it to

585-409: Is land and 1.7 square miles (4.3 km ), or 19.55%, is water. Morehead City has a humid subtropical climate ( Cfa ) with long, hot summers and short, cool winters. Note As of the 2020 United States census , there were 9,556 people, 4,428 households, and 2,276 families residing in the town. As of the census of 2000, there were 7,691 people, 3,597 households, and 1,985 families residing in

630-519: Is located southwest of the center of Carteret County. It occupies a peninsula bordered to the south by Bogue Sound and to the north and east by the tidal Newport River . Across the river to the east is the town of Beaufort , while to the south across Bogue Sound is Atlantic Beach . According to the United States Census Bureau , Morehead City has a total area of 8.5 square miles (22.1 km ), of which 6.8 square miles (17.7 km )

675-533: Is within easy access of New Bern , Havelock and Jacksonville, North Carolina . Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point is 17 miles (27 km) northwest of Morehead City in Havelock, and Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune is 30 miles (48 km) west of Morehead City near Jacksonville. Morehead City is one of two existing ports in North Carolina which primarily export phosphate . The Port of Morehead City features

720-618: The Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament draws large crowds of sporting enthusiasts of all types to Morehead City each year to witness some of the largest Atlantic blue marlin catches in North America. Morehead City and surrounding areas are a popular scuba diving destination, particularly for the many shipwrecks that have led the waters off North Carolina to be nicknamed the " Graveyard of the Atlantic ". Morehead City sits between

765-583: The Carteret County Public Schools . Carteret Community College serves the undergraduate community with two-year associate degree programs focused primarily on trades and service sector occupations. There are several world-class postgraduate programs and research organizations in the area, including the University of North Carolina 's Institute of Marine Sciences, North Carolina State University 's Center for Marine Sciences and Technology, and

810-578: The Continental Shelf and Gulf Stream . The Gulf Stream is a powerful, warm and swift Atlantic Ocean current that originates at the tip of Florida and follows the coastline of the eastern United States to Newfoundland before crossing the Atlantic Ocean, bringing large sport fish species such as the Atlantic blue marlin and other billfish close to the North Carolina coastline. Established in 1957,

855-543: The Duke University Marine Lab in nearby Beaufort. Morehead City also is home to the Research and Compliance Branch North Carolina Marine Fisheries Division, a governmental organization. Morehead City and the surrounding area is an excellent venue for fishermen of all varieties. There are many opportunities for recreational fishing when in Morehead City because of its pristine estuaries and close proximity to

900-555: The Fox network in the United States on 11 May 1999. The episode was written by Lewis Morton and directed by Susie Dietter . Ron Popeil guest stars in this episode as himself. Nancy Cartwright also has a brief cameo as a Bart Simpson doll. Much of the episode is a spoof of the 1998 film Armageddon ; however, instead of Earth being threatened by an asteroid , it is threatened by a giant ball of garbage. Professor Farnsworth invites

945-507: The Greenville – New Bern – Washington designated market area , which was the 109th largest in 2007 (according to Nielsen Media Research ). Broadcast Television Stations serving the market include: A Big Piece of Garbage " A Big Piece of Garbage " is the eighth episode in the first season of the American animated television series Futurama . It originally aired on

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990-519: The Mobro made its way to its home port in Louisiana , but that state, too, declined the waste. Similarly, Alabama , three other states, and the nations of Mexico , Belize , and the Bahamas refused the load. The Mexican Navy denied it entrance to their waters. It made it as far south as Belize , again being rejected, before the operators abandoned the plan and returned to New York . Lowell Harrelson,

1035-509: The National Register of Historic Places . Morehead City's economy is based predominantly on a variety of ecotourism activities, a growing retirement community, and the Port of Morehead City. The local economy is based further on the Port of Morehead City, light industry and manufacturing, land development, light commercial fishing, sport fishing, and other service-oriented businesses. The town

1080-568: The Newport River and the Intracoastal Waterway . The Shepard Point Land Company was established to construct a deepwater port to allow another access point for North Carolina timber products to relieve pressure at the port located in Wilmington . To make the port accessible to the interior of North Carolina, the Atlantic and North Carolina Railroad line between Goldsboro and New Bern

1125-454: The fishing industry that has remained an important part of the town's economy. The Great Depression and World War II markedly altered the character of the town. The traditional downtown area had deteriorated and, as newer stores opened further west, the decay in the old center of town accelerated. Finally, in the 1980s, a renewal began when the town obtained a Community Development Block Grant to replace an aging infrastructure and improve

1170-480: The tugboat Break of Dawn and carrying 3,168 tons (2,874 tonnes ) of trash headed for a pilot program in Morehead City, North Carolina , to be turned into methane . While it was in transit, a rumor spread that the 16 bundles of trash that contained hospital gowns, syringes and diapers was a contaminant that affected the entire load. The barge was docked at Morehead City , until a WRAL-TV news crew, acting on

1215-456: The North Carolina section of the Carolina Special . The North Carolina Department of Transportation as of 2007 was studying the resumption of intercity passenger train service from Raleigh through Goldsboro to Morehead City. The Carteret County News-Times is the local newspaper, published three times a week, and is owned by Carteret Publishing Company. Morehead City is part of

1260-445: The appearance of the waterfront area. Subsequent grants, private investment, and town monies have maintained the forward momentum, so that the town now has a new sea wall , underground utilities, brick paved walkways with planters along the waterfront, all in the downtown area, and tree-lined streets, renovated houses, new docks and new businesses. The Morehead City Historic District and Morehead City Municipal Building are listed on

1305-402: The average family size was 2.73. In the town the age distribution of the population shows 20.2% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 27.2% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 20.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 83.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.3 males. The median income for a household in

1350-464: The beaches of Bogue Banks , helped to establish Morehead City as a summer destination. It was also during the 1880s and 1890s that fishermen who had lived on the island of Shackleford Banks moved on to the mainland (often transporting their houses by boat from the outer banks), settling in the areas between 10th and 15th streets and calling it the Promised Land. These fishermen became the nucleus of

1395-481: The crew of Planet Express to join him at the Academy of Inventors' annual symposium , where inventors display their latest creations. He will be presenting his invention, the Deathclock, which displays the date of a person's death after that person's finger is stuck into the machine. At the symposium, the crew encounter one of Farnsworth's bitter former students, Professor Ogden Wernstrom . Wernstrom presents his invention,

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1440-479: The daily Palmetto train to New York City and Savannah, Georgia , as well as the daily Carolinian train to New York City and Charlotte . Into the early 1950s, the Atlantic and East Carolina Railway ran a daily passenger train to Goldsboro ' s Union Station . The connections at Goldsboro were timed to accommodate a local Southern Railway overnight train (#111/#112, in final years, #11/#112) to parts in central and western North Carolina, comparable to

1485-468: The eastern tip of the peninsula bordering the Newport River , known then as "Shepards Point," which is the present location of Morehead City. The Shepard Point Land Company's objective was to take advantage of the natural deep channel of Topsail Inlet, known today as the Beaufort Inlet, which splits Bogue Banks from Shackleford Banks and provides access to Morehead City, Beaufort, North Carolina ,

1530-506: The economy of the port declined along with the town's population. It was not until the 1880s, with the construction of the Atlantic Hotel at the tip of the peninsula and its promotion by the railroad as the "Summer Capital by the Sea," that the area began to experience a resurgence. The popularity of this particular hotel, with its train depot entrance, grand ballroom, piers, sailing, and ferries to

1575-495: The episode is a reference to the 1998 film Armageddon , in which a group of astronauts attempt to destroy an asteroid heading towards Earth with a warhead . It also references Mobro 4000 , a garbage barge that originated in New York and was rejected from multiple ports in 1987. The garbage ball contains Bart Simpson dolls that utter Bart's catchphrase "eat my shorts" to which Bender does, and later he would respond "mmm...shorts"

1620-455: The explosion would cause garbage to rain across the entire Earth, killing millions. Unfortunately, after starting the bomb, they find out the Professor put the bomb's countdown display in upside down, and it actually only allows 52 seconds. The crew panics, and Bender throws the bomb into space to save them, where it explodes harmlessly. Wernstrom makes several demands before quickly leaving. In

1665-405: The owner of the garbage, tried to negotiate for the Mobro to dock near Queens , whence the refuse would be carried back to Islip by trucks. Claire Shulman , the borough president of Queens, was not consulted, however; she obtained a temporary restraining order that forced the waste to stay at sea. The Mobro and its decaying cargo stayed off the shores of Brooklyn until July, when the vessel

1710-407: The population. There were 3,597 households, out of which 23.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.9% were married couples living together, 13.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.8% were non-families. 39.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.06 and

1755-499: The same way Homer Simpson does when he gets hungry. During the end credits, Kate Smith 's rendition of " We'll Meet Again " plays instead of the standard opening and closing theme music. Zack Handlen of The A.V. Club gave the episode an A−, stating, "More than anything else, 'A Big Piece Of Garbage' gives a taste of what’s to come. Other episodes will have more challenging, mind-boggling plots, and still others will find ways to move us more deeply than we thought possible from such

1800-408: The sun, while the new ball flies out of the solar system. For saving the city from the garbage ball, Professor Farnsworth is given the inventor's award, which was confiscated from Wernstrom as punishment abandoning everyone. Leela 's concerns that the new garbage ball will return and destroy a future generation are quickly dismissed, as the new ball should not return for hundreds of years. The plot of

1845-405: The town was $ 28,737, and the median income for a family was $ 39,290. Males had a median income of $ 26,852 versus $ 21,995 for females. The per capita income for the town was $ 19,138. About 12.1% of families and 14.6% of the population were below the poverty line , including 21.7% of those under age 18 and 12.3% of those age 65 or over. Amtrak provides a Thruway Bus to Wilson that connects with

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1890-429: The town. The population density was 1,507.6 inhabitants per square mile (582.1/km ). There were 4,296 housing units at an average density of 842.1 per square mile (325.1/km ). The racial makeup of the town was 81.71% White , 13.98% Black (U.S. Census), 0.66% Native American , 0.77% Asian , 0.04% Pacific Islander , 1.13% from other races , and 1.72% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.34% of

1935-655: Was completed on April 29, 1858. North Carolina Governor John Motley Morehead , for whom the city of Morehead City is named, was a principal member of the Shepard Point Land Company investment group. Fully operational rail service began in July 1858 connecting the town to points west, north, and south. The city of Morehead City was laid out using a grid plan , whereby city blocks were equally laid out with each block consisting of 16 equally divided lots. The city blocks stretched from 1st Street to 15th Street, incorporating

1980-566: Was granted a federal anchorage in New Jersey . The court hearings ran until October, when it was agreed that the cargo should be incinerated in Brooklyn. The 430 tons of ash that remained from this process was added to the landfill in Islip. At the time, the Mobro 4000 incident was widely cited by environmentalists and the media as emblematic of the solid-waste disposal crisis in the United States due to

2025-423: Was produced with the wording "L.I. Garbage Barge - World Tour '87" surrounding a cartoon image of the scow. The Swedish 1988 comedy film S.O.S. – En segelsällskapsresa features a garbage barge as a plot device , roaming the inner Stockholm Archipelago . The backstory of the garbage ball in the 1999 Futurama episode " A Big Piece of Garbage ", draws directly from this event. Singer Sally Timms included

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