I bought a fun gift for Theo for Valentine’s Day. Or at least I thought it was fun. When I tell you what I got him I bet a lot of you will be taken back to your childhood days.

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Who remembers Sea Monkeys? Those magical creatures that you could buy from the ads in the back of comic books? I saw this lonely package at Aldi and decided Theo needed to experience the magical creatures for himself. They are waiting to “activate” them until they are going to be home to care for them. Wise. Who wants to leave sea monkeys unattended?

So I did a little bit of reading on Wikipedia so I could refresh my memory on these little creatures. They are really brine shrimp that were marketed in the 1060’s and 1970’s. They were developed  in the United States in 1957 by Harold von Braunhut and the kits often came with 3 packets that could be activated with adding water. They were originally marketed as “Instant Life” and sold for 49 cents. Braunhut later changed the name to Sea Monkeys.

So the cool thing about sea monkeys is that it is the water that activates them. They hatch from eggs that can remain dormant for years until they are exposed to water. John Glenn actually took some to space in 1998 aboard the space shuttle for 9 days. Eight weeks after they returned to earth they hatched with no apparent reaction to their space travels.

Did you have sea monkeys as a kid? What was your success level? Apparently they normally live a couple of months but some have been known to live up to 5 years which I frankly find amazing. I don’t think I have the commitment to have them for 5 years.

Thanks for reading today and sharing your thoughts. Next week will be sporadic for posting so see you back here when I see you!!!