You must admit that now you rarely meet a person who would not be attracted to shop windows, on which sea shells, pebbles, the remains of glass perfectly honed with salt water and outlandish corals are placed in huge quantities.
And how many such gifts of the depths of the sea we bring annually, returning from both overseas and local resorts? That's right - hundreds! In truth, it has already become a tradition to come from leisure, taking as a souvenir a piece of that other world, where restoring life, relaxing bliss and some special inner freedom reigns.
Seashells. general information
In accordance with scientific terminology, the usual hard shells (or mollusks) are called the outer hard shells of snails of various shapes and contours. They have a certain special gloss, so most are able to shine in the sun.
It should be noted that they all exist in the oceans in different environments and at completely different depths.
Many empty shells can be found on the seashore, in bays near the rocks, in shallow water, in sand and under silt. From the point of view of science, seashells, the names of which are difficult enough to remember, are of great value in terms of studying ways to adapt to the environment.
This is a special and very promising area of science called mariculture. By the way, this term can be literally translated into Russian as “culture of the sea”. But the collection and study of shells belong to the sections of conchology.
By the way, it is impossible not to mention that today in nature there are many species, which are strictly forbidden to take away from their natural habitat. Neglect of this law is severely punished, and a huge fine can be set for violators.
The main types of mollusks
The inhabitants of the seas and oceans with a dense shell, colloquially called a shell, as a rule, belong to one of two classes.
- Gastropod mollusks, which have a single coil or spiral shape with a hole in the right corner. Some species have a tire that serves as a kind of hatch for closing the shell. Their shell can be both horny and calcareous.
- Bivalve water mollusks, in turn, are distinguished by an armor consisting of two symmetrical parts. Their habitat can be both salt and fresh water.
Saltwater shells of the oceans, as a rule, are very beautiful and varied. They all differ in their colors, sizes and shapes. Take, for example, such a representative as a shell starfish. Almost every one of us knows what this species looks like, but at the same time, you must admit, even in our own collection we cannot even find two completely identical specimens.
Is it true that the song of the sea is heard in the shell?
From childhood, we all know that if you attach any, even the smallest stone snail to your ear, you will hear the sound of the sea. Moreover, many argue that this does not depend on where and when these or those sea shells were collected. And today, around this very interesting fact, several theories have already formed.
The first, unjustifiable theory says that shells supposedly retain the noise of the seas and oceans. Although it’s sad to say this, it’s nothing more than fiction, which is not scientifically supported.
The second theory claims that when you bring this item to your ear, people hear the noise of the movement of blood through their own blood vessels. But this fact is easy enough to destroy. For example, you must admit that after intense physical exercise, blood circulates through the body at a very high speed. In this case, the noise in the shell should change, but this does not happen.
The third theory says that the sound of a stream of air moving through it is heard in a shell. It becomes clear why the sound will be louder if you bring the shell to the ear itself, and weak if you hold it near it. This idea is also refuted, it is only necessary to place the object in a special soundproof room. In this case, the noise from the shell completely disappears, but the air flows in it remain as before.
After clarifying all this, it becomes clear that the sound of the ocean from the shell is heard only when it is around the shell. This is the basis of the most truthful, fourth theory.
In fact, the sound of the sea is a modified ambient noise that is reflected from the walls of shells, so it is heard more clearly in large objects. Moreover, the more sounds around, the clearer it will be heard in the shell. It follows from this that it is a simple resonator chamber.
By the way, in order to hear the song of the sea, it is not necessary to have a shell at all, you can attach a regular glass or even a palm to your ear.
The inhabitants of the seas and oceans: unusual facts
- What are they like? A shell is an external skeleton of a mollusk that it builds throughout its existence. When the mollusk grows, its shell also increases. Its coloring depends on the substance that is secreted from the glands, therefore, seashells can be colored very differently, most often there are specimens in stripes, lines and specks. It should be noted that the smallest representatives are visible only through a magnifying glass, and large ones sometimes reach meter sizes.
- How does a pearl appear? Not everyone knows that the largest shell in the world has rapeseed. This ferocious predator has a sharp tongue-drill and muscular leg. He, like all such species, knows how to "make" pearls. When a foreign body enters the mollusk’s shell, it begins to intensively defend itself with layers of nacre. So a precious pearl appears. This ryan was brought from the Pacific Ocean to the Black Sea by chance, after which it took root and changed the ecosystem formed here.
- Are there any kind of totems? Oh sure. For example, the kauri shell has long become a real symbol. In ancient times, it was used instead of money and among many peoples was considered a sign of special wealth and prosperity. In addition, the scallop shell has long become a kind of mascot among travelers. By the way, not everyone knows that certain religions venerate rapana as a symbol of the existence of man and his soul on earth.
The healing properties of shells
You must agree that not everyone has heard about them. In the oldest eastern medicine on the planet, the use of kauri shells and rapans during massage is quite common.
But in modern SPA-salons they are now quite successfully doing hot shell massage. It stimulates blood circulation, relaxes muscles and soothes the nervous system.
Cosmetology also did not stand aside. In this direction, products are widely used for the preparation of effective anti-aging agents, in which microparticles of shells are added as one of the components.
