Last Wednesday, my friend Tett asked me to tell him three things about Sea Monkeys. I could not offer any solid facts, so I hunkered down for some research time. I won’t be caught off-guard the next time that somebody asks me about Sea Monkeys. Here are a few tidbits for you:
1) Sea Monkeys are actually brine shrimp. More specifically, they are Artemia salina x nyos, an interspecific hybrid between salina and an indeterminate species of Artemia, created by New York Science Laboratories (hence the nyos).
2) Sea Monkeys are shipped in their cryptobiotic state (like hibernation, inside an egg-like cyst), which gives them a long shelf-life as long as they are kept dry.
3) When added to saltwater, the brine shrimp hatch from their cysts.
4) Sea Monkeys grow to between ½” and ¾” long, which is larger than most brine shrimp.
5) Sea Monkeys were first marketed in 1957 by Harold von Braunhut, and were given their current name in 1962.
6) Sea Monkeys are packaged in boxes which are covered with illustrations of human-like creatures that wear clothes and play games. Sea Monkeys don’t actually wear clothes or play games. They just float about and eat algae.
7) Harold von Braunhut also created and marketed other products, including X-Ray Specs and Invisible Goldfish (which were guaranteed to remain invisible forever).
8) Harold von Braunhut was a known supporter of the Aryan Nations, and even purchased weapons for an Ohio branch of the Ku Klux Klan. Oh yeah, and van Braunhut was born a Jew.
To summarize, if you purchased Incredible Sea-Monkeys at any time before the mid-90’s, you were indirectly supporting hate-groups, and all you got out of it was a jar full of crappy little brine shrimp.
Vaya con Dios, amigos.
The Judge
2 comments
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June 4, 2008 at 11:55 pm
patrickturkett
Where does the money from sea monkeys go now?
Where does one go to get sea monkeys in our current time?
Did you read anything about the success rate of the sea monkeys actually hatching and being alive, because I have seen a few sea monkey habitats in my days and I don’t think I have ever seen one that was successful.
You should get some sea monkeys…
August 2, 2008 at 4:39 pm
john
Hi Judge
I market a sea monkey alternative called Itsy Bitsy Sea Dragons.
The key feature of my product is that I have discovered a couple of cute little sea snails that live with sea monkeys and can be shipped any where just the same.
If you’d like to know more please feel free to visit my forum where there is an active community who keep these cute little guys as a simple but graceful “care free” desk top or window sill pet.
It’s unfortunate that people have problems with sea monkeys when they first hatch and don’t know what to do to rectify the problem. At the forum you will find out how to get them to rehatch and expand your ideas on just how to display them in larger tanks complete with coral and shells or you can go crazy with lots of coloured gravel and plastic plants just like with a Betta or gold fish. The nicest thing of all about them is that once a natural balance of algae is established they look after them selves and require no feeding. They are vegetarians so they will happily graze on the algae meaning you can go on holiday for a few weeks and know they’ll be fine when you get back.
http://www.littleaussieproducts.com/forum/index.php