Look ma it's a... gummy bear?

Have you ever wondered why oysters create pearls and not something else? Wondered what is the science behind it, the meaning? I personally don't eat oysters. They're slimy and just.. ok slimy is reason enough for me.

But what if, just go with me here, what if oysters created something else? Say like a gummy bear. Don’t ask me why, I’m sure I won’t have a logical reason but for some reason gummy bears seem more like something that would come from an oyster, sticky, gooey and slimy. Ok they’re only slimy after my niece slobbers all over them but you get what I’m saying.

Let’s look at how pearls are made.

The formation of a natural pearl begins when a foreign substance slips into the oyster between the mantle and the shell, which irritates the mantle. It's kind of like the oyster getting a splinter. The oyster's natural reaction is to cover up that irritant to protect itself. The mantle covers the irritant with layers of the same nacre substance that is used to create the shell. This eventually forms a pearl. *Answer courtesy of www.howstuffworks.com.

So the oyster coats the thing that got in its shell to protect itself. Got it. Now if I’m thinking of protecting myself against something that may be uncomfortable I think I’m more likely to pad it and make it softer rather than make it hard. Right? So gummy bears seem ideal. Just the oyster just spits some goo on the offending object, then some more goo, continue, then after a while you have a soft gooey gummy. Of course having it come out in the shape of a bear is pure fancy on my part. It would more likely end up like a blob of gummy goo, but this is my story so a cute little bear it is!



Where did this strange random thought process come from you ask? Ok if you’ve read my blog for any length of time you’re probably not asking lol. But I’ll tell you anyway.

Beoysteraware.com is this neat website that tells you all you could ever want to know about Gulf oysters. Not only do they have some pretty cool information about oyster harvesting processes and some scrumdidlyumptious recipes (for you oyster lovers!) but they also have lots of information about the risks of eating oysters. Apparently eating raw blobs of goo from the bottom of the ocean can cause quite the upset stomach. Who’da thunk?!?

So if you’re one of those people who just loves to slurp some slime right from the shell go check out Be Oyster Aware first and be a safe slime slurper! =)