The Other Day A Question Was Asked On Our Facebook Page…
“Are these similar to the old Sea Monkeys?”
My answer,
“Great question! Sea Monkeys are really Brine Shrimp. They grow to be about 1 inch long and basically they just float around on their backs. That is about it.”
“Triops on the other hand can grow to be about 3 inches long and are much more active. They swim all around, dig in the sand, and eat sea monkeys. Plus they really do have three eyes. My opinion, and I’m obviously biased, is that Triops are way more interesting!”
But today, I thought that I would go into a bit more depth on the subject, and here’s the truth.
Sea Monkeys Are A Scam!
Take a look at this Sea Monkeys Ad taken from an old comic book where Sea Monkeys have historically been sold directly to unsuspecting children, bypassing their parents who obviously might be a little more skeptical of what this ad seems to promise.
If you have ever experienced the “joy” of sea monkeys you know that these cute little denizens of the deep are what you think your getting.
The fact that Sea Monkeys are an epic disappointment is the main reason they are famous, as can be attested to by most of their pop culture references.
So where did the idea of taking Brine Shrimp, which were traditionally sold as fish food, and turning them into the cultural phenomenon they became, come from.
Sea Monkeys were invented by Harold von Braunhut, who was inspired by the Flea Circuses of the 1800s where fleas were sometimes actually attached to miniature pieces of equipment.
Many times though, the exhibits appeared to use real fleas, but in fact did not. A variety of electrical, magnetic, and mechanical devices were used to augment exhibits.
In some cases, these mechanisms were responsible for all of the “acts”, with loose fleas in the exhibit maintaining the illusion.
So Harold von Braunhut decided to do the same thing with Brine Shrimp, and even used the same philosophy to promote other products.
My favorite is his Invisible Goldfish, which was just a fish bowl and some fish food. The ad for this product promised that you would never see the Goldfish. Sad to say, other companies have started jumping on this scammy band wagon.
Just The Other Day I Was in Walmart…
Just in case you are wondering if this could possibly be true, please check the fine print and you will see that “Bag of mermaid eggs” is actually Artemia Salina, the scientific name for Brine Shrimp.
So don’t get duped, Mermaids aren’t any more real than Sea Monkeys, but will probably leave your little girl even more disappointed!
However, if you are interested in providing an experience for your child that delivers on nearly all of Mr. von Braunhuts promises (With the exception of them looking like little underwater people.)
Than I’d like to introduce you to the Triops, a prehistoric creature with the same super power, ”Crypto-Biosis”, that Sea Monkeys have, which allows them to go into suspended animation for decades until you resurrect them, by just adding water.
Triops may not look like monkeys but they do look a lot like their prehistoric cousin whom you might be familiar with, the Trilobite.
250 million years ago Trilobites ruled the seas and they just might still be with us today if they too had had their cousin’s super power.
So you may not be getting a “monkey” but you are getting a creature that can give you and your kids the experience of going back in time and seeing what life was like in the time of dinosaurs.
Unlike the tiny Sea Monkeys, Triops grow to be about three inches long, they are much more active, and they really do do tricks.
Plus they dig in the sand, fight with each other, and pick things up and carry them around.
So Don’t Fall For The Scam.
If you would like to discover more about the fascinating and dark history of Sea Monkeys, than I strongly recommend the short documentary, Just Add Water.
It’s awesome!
