Wednesday, November 17, 2010

The Amazing Pistol Shrimp


I was telling my sister about the "pubic hair" I found in my shrimp the other day and she eventually got on the subject of Pistol Shrimp. She saw a documentary on them on the BBC not long ago. When she told me about them, I couldn't believe how they killed their prey.

Here's a short description on Pistol Shrimp and a video clip of the show she saw on this odd marine creature:

Pistol Shrimp have one (Or sometimes two) oversized claw that create a cavitation bubble as it snaps shut. This bubble, very briefly reaches temperatures approaching that of the sun, about 4700 degrees Celsius. An incredibly loud "popping" noise is created, as well. The Pistol Shrimp is officially the loudest creature on Earth. The bubble they create stuns the shrimp's prey and allows the Pistol Shrimp to eat them.


14 comments:

  1. How about sticking one of those shrimps up your butthole the next time you're constipated?

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  2. It's a good thing mother nature decided not to make them large enough to hunt people.......though that would make for a dam fine movie. I wonder if Chuck Norris would be interested in starring in it?

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  3. Wow Kelly! The perfect blog post to go with my New Hampshire Hunting Season preoccupation. I sense that my florescent orange hat, mittens and vest might not offer adequate protection from this pistol poppin shrimp-YIKES!

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  4. Gorilla Bananas- Weeeehooo! That sounds like a jolly ol' fun time to me. Sign me up for seconds!

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  5. The Wolf- That would kinda play out like an "Alien" or "Predator" type movie. Yeah, maybe Chuck Norris could do it. I'm not sure if he would be up to the task due to his age but you never know. What about Vin Diesel or Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson? Anyway... It would definitely be cool.

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  6. THE SNEE- If that shrimp were the size of an average human and it was hunting down people, there would be a lot of dead muthasuckers, for sure. Your hat, mittens and vest wouldn't stand a chance against something that could unleash the power of the sun against ya. No, ma'am.

    Just imagine an army of them that size!

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  7. Wow! Hot shrimp-on-shrimp action.
    It seems a bit like overkill - the loudest noise in nature plus the heat of the sun. It could fell an elephant with that power.
    Perhaps the shrimp you had in the Chinese restaurant had a hair trigger!

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  8. bazza- You bet it could fell an elephant. When she first told me about that shrimp, I thought she was exaggerating things a bit. Then I did my research on it and was wowed by the awesome power of this particular shrimp.

    'Perhaps the shrimp you had in the Chinese restaurant had a HAIR TRIGGER!'? Ha ha. Good one, bazza.

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  9. Another interesting fact. If you want to force-mate shrimp just guage the female's eyeball out. This is the exact reason my husband has no access to ice picks and I never turn the other cheek!

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  10. You show admirable reason to not have access to any ice picks. Unfortunately for the wifey, there are sharp objects aplenty in this here fine establishment. Not good for me at all. ARG!.. I'm in HOUSEHOLD HELL.

    Ah.... I just farted. Thank you and God Bless. :) lol

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  11. Shy Sir Tom11/18/2010

    This time Kelly Sir Tom is going to be informative for a change.
    Have you ever heard of the Bombardier Beetle?
    The little bugger actually lobs bombs at it's victims. Honest, old boy, it really does!
    See here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-wVFLucTks&feature=related

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  12. Shy Sir Tom- No, I've never heard of the Bombardier Beetle. He sounds like he would be fun. I'll check out that link and watch him in action. Don't drink that whole bottle!

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  13. That's crazy. You learn something new everyday.

    I want that ability. Don't make me break out THE CLAW.

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  14. NoOOoo, LilPixi... Please don't break out the Claw! How dastardly are you??? :)

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Go ahead! Write something clever! I dare ya!