Are animals that can't move, sponges that grow in the sea, and sponge products that we use every day, the same thing?
According to the general principle, animals should be able to move freely, but there is one animal in nature that cannot move, that is, sponges.
Glass sponge in the sea
Friends big and small like the cartoon, the little SpongeBob jumping around, that is just a cartoon, the real little sponge is an animal, but it will not move.
So is this sponge related to the chairs, sofas, mattresses, car cushions, bath cotton balls, etc. that we use in our daily lives? It is true that there is such a lost relationship.
Sponge for daily use
Sponges lived in the ocean 600 million years ago in the late Proterozoic and early Paleozoic periods, about 400 million years before the dinosaurs we are most familiar with. Sponges are the simplest multicellular animals, no tissues and organs, no hands and feet, so they can't take the initiative to eat things, can't go south and north, can only stay in the original place, can't move.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="6" > to open your mouth</h1>
Food and breathing oxygen are brought by the flow of water, and if the water is stationary, the sponge will face suffocation and starvation. There are many small holes in the sponge, which are connected to the internal pipes, and the water flows in and out of the sponge, bringing abundant oxygen and food to the sponge, and also taking away the waste.
Don't look at the size of the sponge is not large, but its throughput of seawater is very amazing, the volume of water flowing through the body every day, thousands of times larger than the body, people often use sponges to absorb water, to describe the huge absorption of knowledge by xueba.
Picasso sponges from underwater life
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="30" > stubborn</h1>
Sponges are a typical molecule of stubbornness, and the long years have failed to change it a little, and there has been no progress in evolution. Therefore, its position in the classification of animals is classified as a blind branch, which can also be said to be a lateral branch, so it is called a "lateral animal".
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="31" > long been considered plants</h1>
Sponges mostly live in tropical and subtropical oceans, from shallow coastal seas to 7,000 meters deep seas, and only a few species live in fresh water, often attached to rocks, shellfish, algae and other objects. Sponges were thought to be plants in the past, and it wasn't until the 19th century that zoologists confirmed that it belonged to animals.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="32" > home to critters</h1>
As an animal, sponges are known for their quiet and peaceful nature, not attacking others, and others do not like to eat them. Therefore, there will be no contradiction with any animal, small animals like it, small fish and shrimp often hide in the sponge body, like a family.
There is a type of sea shrimp called the shrimp, and they love a sponge called "Venus's Flower Basket". When I was young, I hid in pairs in the cavity of the sponge, and when I grew up, my body could not come out because it was too big, so I simply lived a life without shame in it.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="33" > amazing regenerative power</h1>
In general, the regenerative ability of lower animals is very strong, and sponges are no exception. If the sponge is cut into small pieces, not only will it not endanger its life, but each piece will grow independently into a new sponge. Even if it's mashed, it only takes a few days to mix them together, and they recombine into a sponge individual.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="34" > sponge with us</h1>
Natural sponges have many benefits for humans, and one of the most famous varieties is called bath sponge. Since it is a bath, it is related to bathing, because its bones are soft sponge silk, full of elasticity, and super absorbent, and it is used to rub the bath, which is an ultimate enjoyment. In addition to bathing, it is also used in surgery to absorb liquids such as blood and clean the affected area.
Natural bath sponge
Natural sponge bone - sponge filament
Natural sponge production is very low, there are few opportunities to use every day, we usually use sponge products, almost all of them are a chemical multi-air elastic material produced by foamed plastic polymers, and natural sponges have nothing to do with.
Chemical material sponge
Chemical sponges are used in cushions, sofa bed cushions, etc., and chemical sponges are also used for bathing and washing dishes, which are modeled on the characteristics of sponges with large water absorption and elasticity.
Natural sponges sold commercially in European countries
There is no doubt that the price of natural sponges is more than ten times more expensive, chemical sponges are a few dollars, and natural sponges often cost dozens of yuan.
Dry natural sponge
Due to the high price, natural sponges are mostly used to make high-grade bath sponges.
A natural sponge that absorbs water
Natural sponge bath
Bath sponges are mainly produced in the Mediterranean Sea, and there are also in the territorial waters of China and Japan, but the number is even smaller.
Natural sponges absorb huge amounts of water
Overall wild production is low, so artificial breeding sponges are already available along the Mediterranean, Red Sea and Atlantic coasts of the Americas. The method is to cut the sponge into small pieces, tie it to a shelf with a rope and throw it into the seabed, so that the sponge can continue to grow using its regenerative ability, and it can grow into two or three years for sale.
Mediterranean coastal residents prune wild sponges for sale
The bone sponge silk of the natural bath sponge, its composition is natural, the skin-friendly feeling is very different from the chemical material, perhaps worth experiencing.