Gross and Disgusting Things
Under the Sea

• I bet they're not allowed free refills on sodas.

• Santa, have you seen Rudolph lately?

• Armies of sea stars from cut-off sea star armies.

Sea stars reproduce by females laying eggs and males fertilizing them. Some sea star can reproduce by breaking off the tips of an arm that has sprouted new arms. Both male and female sea stars also reproduce in another, more amazing way that confused fishermen for years. Many fishermen think of sea stars as pests. The sea stars eat fish and molluscs, reducing the supply. At sea, fishermen used to chop up sea stars and throw them overboard--that is, until they found out that some kinds can reproduce through regeneration. Even a sea star arm stays alive by itself. Slowly, the arm grows new arms to replace the missing ones and becomes a new sea star. By cutting up the sea stars fishermen were actually adding thousands to the sea!

• Can you stomach this?

All fish have intestines, but not all fish have stomachs.

• Pardon me, but is that fish on your lips?

The iridescence in so many lipsticks is created by fish scales from commerical fish-packing companies.

• These fish have a glowing reputation.

Sea creatures that live below 3,000 feet (1,000 meters) are either blind or they glow in the dark.

• If humans have heart-to-heart talks, do octopi have heart-to-heart-to-heart-to-heart-to-heart-to-heart talks.

An octopus has three hearts.

• A real good reason to run away from home.

All lobsters are cannibals. The first thing a newborn baby lobster has to do is hide from its parents or they will eat it.

• For those of you who thought dust mites living in your home carpeting were scary...

Zillions of microscopic creatures on the beaches scavenge the sand for whatever is dead that used to be alive. Meiofauna is what they're called. One handful of wet sand can contain thousands of them. Were they not there eating all the dead stuff, bacteria multiply, out of control, and your nice sandy beach would become a scummy flat.

• For those of you who think fish taste and smell bad...

Sea sponges taste and smell so bad hardly any animal will eat a sponge.