Just guessing.

Only thing I could think of.

Have you changed pod brands lately?

And I don't know if we did change brands recently. Could be. Do you know of any other instances of this phenomenon?

I'm leaning toward the stretchy lid theory?

I'll ask around but so far I have not heard of anything which specifically matches this.

Alright. I am going to try an experiment: I'll get another brand of dishwasher pods and try one of those. I'll tell you all here what happens and we'll take it from there. If it's different, I'll contact the maker of the pod detergent and send them what I have recovered and ask them what gives with them! I'll let you all know if they respond and what they say...

I fail to see how they stretch out to that size, but I suppose it's a possibility.

We shall see! I eagerly await the update.

Pls let us know what you determine to be the cause.

with a tiny kitchen.

However, I might try a non-pod detergent. If no plastic bloom appears, I'll know what caused it.

Or some other containers that shouldn't have been put in.

I had that happen once with ones I thought were silicone. They were not.

Demented alien jellyfish from outer space invading via dishwashers!

RUN!

dishwasher. It's the strangest feeling, looking at it. Almost like another "message" being sent to me from some strange force, saying "Here I am again, J-----."

to an alternate dimension or universe. The dryer also has a similar condition.

It is how Santa gains entry into your house when you don't have a chimney. It looks like the dishwasher shares the same sidereal feature..

...and then when you empty it, see if anything is unaccounted for?

We used to make our own pudding cups and we used small plastic 1/2 cup containers. That's what it reminds me of.

Wow, what a mystery! If you can, please let us know what it is!

or caps from the top of something.

google image search thinks they are crystal candle dishes. so much for that AI, can't tell plastic from glass.

Not sure what it might accomplish but it’s the kind of thing I would do. Like, I would be curious to see if they appear after an empty run.

and came off after the adhesive gave way over a period of time,
or four feet for something else that went through the dishwasher.

Let’s see if it is a part of the dishwasher. It is not a pod. If it is on the top shelf, it is something you put in or something that fell from the top, nothing that got forced up from the bottom. And they occur individually not all 4 at the same time, correct?

marble. But it IS a nice looking one and I appreciate your compliment!

They require heat and water.

pods that didn’t dissolve?