Mysterious barges popped up on the shores of San Francisco and Maine in recent months, each with ties to Google, spawning numerous stories about what they are and potentially contain. 

Reports have said the barges house dazzling showrooms outfitted with chrome features and floor lighting, party decks, 40 interchangeable shipping containers to create new spaces for Google X events...the list goes on.

Imaginations have since run amok, with news articles becoming more sensational by the moment. Finally, though, Google has decided to end all the speculation surrounding the barges by revealing their masterful purpose to TechCrunch. Sort of. 

"Google Barge … A floating data centre? A wild party boat? A barge housing the last remaining dinosaur? Sadly, none of the above. Although it’s still early days and things may change, we’re exploring using the barge as an interactive space where people can learn about new technology," said Google in a statement.

Read: Google Barge to be the new home for Google X events and more

TechCrunch also explained that there are four barges in existence. They are "floating structures comprised of shipping containers" said to have" large windows cut in them" and a "physical demonstration location for products". They are also "designed with portability in mind," and a "product of the experimental Google[x] labs headed by company founder Sergey Brin".

Sounds like a lot more speculation. However, at least we now have an on-the-record comment from Google, and we know officially that the Google Barges won't be for partying or boarding dinosaurs. But Google didn't say anything about whether it is hiding aliens in them. Let the new rumours commence!