Several attempts were made to identify the blobs, with Barclift initially asking her mother's doctor to run tests on the substance at the hospital. Little obliged, and reported that it contained human white blood cells. Barclift also managed to persuade Mike Osweiler, of the Washington State Department of Ecology's hazardous materials spill response unit, to examine the substance. Upon further examination by Osweiler's staff, it was reported that the blobs contained cells with no nuclei, which Osweiler noted is something human white cells do have.[7]

Several theories cropped up at the time to explain the appearance of the blobs, though none have been proven correct. A popular theory with the townsfolk at the time was the "jellyfish theory", which postulated that the blobs were the result of bombing runs by the military in the ocean 50 miles (80 km) away from the farm causing explosion within a smack of jellyfish, which were then dispersed into a rain cloud.[6] Although neither Barclift nor Osweiler favoured the idea, the theory was so popular with the townsfolk that there was discussion of holding a jellyfish festival, and that the local tavern even concocted a new drink in honour of the incident, "The Jellyfish", composed of vodka, gelatin, and juice.

Another theory, propagated by David Litle, who handled the original analysis of the blobs, was that the blobs were drops of concentrated fluid waste from an airplane toilet, though when Barclift contacted the FAA about this later, this idea was rebuffed, as she was told that all commercial plane toilet fluids are dyed blue, a property the blobs did not possess.[5]

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