Well, yesterday's packet-ripping action was a hard act to follow, but I actually think today's Sea Monkey fun was even more exciting...
To recap, we have "founded the colony" and purified the water to create a happy home for our new pets. Today we get to add the sachet labelled "Instant Live Eggs".
"Instant Live Eggs" AKA "Brine Shrimp Cysts"
Sea Monkey engineer Harold von Braunhunt was never one to shun an attractive euphemism. And who could blame him - even the least entrepreneurial among us would appreciate that you're far less likely to sell a schoolboy a packet of "Brine Shrimp Cysts" than "Instant Live Eggs"!
Brine shrimps are one of the few invertebrates able to enter a state of suspended animation in which the metabolic processes of the cell are slowed down and the cell ceases all activities like feeding and locomotion. This process - called encystment - enables the shrimp to survive for long periods in unfavourable environmental conditions, such as when its salt pan homes completely dry out. When the encysted shrimp finds itself back in a happy place, the cyst wall breaks down by a process known as excystation.
Coming up...
We now have three or four nail-biting days where we can't do much more than sit back and wait as our brave new world unfolds. Keep following, folks!
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