I blame Mr. Rogers for my fascination with large quantities of everyday items being something to gawk over. Seeing how things are made, grown, or transported will always be cool. That's why I think I'm completely devastated that an 18-wheel semi-truck filled with 40,000 pounds of avocados went up in flames last week on I-35 in Texas.

Man, that's just vegeterrible! Avocadnooo!

The incident happened outside Foreston, Texas, on December 28 and no injuries (besides the avocados) were sustained. It's not known exactly how the fire started, but the Texas Department of Public Safety suspects it was a mechanical issue with the truck. Between the fire and the cleanup, it took about three hours to get traffic moving again. A bulldozer had to scoop up all that smoked avocado mush and dump it on the side of the road. If only the responders had brought a sauté pan and some shrimp along — they'd be set for a post-cleanup party.

As the news broke on Twitter, people chimed in to voice their reaction to the scene.

Although I'm guessing all parties involved carried insurance on the truck and fruit in question, it's nonetheless heartbreaking to see that many heart-healthy fats being used as fire food. Just imagine all the avocado toasts that could have been made, the guacamole that could have been scooped up with chips, or the crispy fries that might have been (yes, I said fries!)

What would you have made with all those avocados?