Now
you may be wondering why Terressentials (an organic body care
company) has an article in their newsletter about mantis shrimp. The
topic of these little aquatic critters seems kind of (well, more than
kind of) unrelated to body care – or is it?
Some
of you may be familiar with the recent posting on The
Oatmeal webcomic regarding mantis shrimp. This post caught my
attention because when I first read it, I knew nothing about mantis
shrimp and I was wondering why this post got so much attention. Then
I read the comic and all I could think was “WOW,
mantis shrimp are pretty awesome.”
As
the comic shows its readers, human eyes can see combinations of
basically three different colors: red, blue, and green. Think on that
for a moment. All the colors of the rainbow and of the world come
from delicate and complex combinations of these three colors. But
mantis shrimp, why they can see sixteen different
“colors.” That's every color that we humans see, then thirteen
more concepts that we can't even imagine or wrap our heads around.
If
that's not enough to impress you, take this into consideration: these
little buggers can club or spear (depending on the specific species
of mantis shrimp) its prey in milliseconds with enough power that is
over 1000 times its body weight. Here is a quote from The
Patek Lab, a marine biology lab from the University of
Massachusetts that studies mantis shrimp:
“Peacock
mantis shrimp use a hammer-like appendage to smash open snail shells
for food. Not only did high speed imaging reveal that peacock mantis
shrimp forelimbs reach maximum speeds from 12-23 m/s (in water!), but
it also showed that cavitation bubbles were forming between the
appendage and snail shell. We found that, as a result of the limb's
extraordinary speed, the water cavitates (vaporizes) when the limb
strikes the prey. Cavitation is a destructive phenomenon; when these
vapor bubbles collapse, they essentially cause a small implosion in
the water which produces heat, light and sound. For example, rapidly
rotating boat propellers are often badly damaged by cavitation to the
point of developing holes in the metal.”
So,
yeah, mantis shrimp are pretty phenomenal. Now, you're probably
intrigued by these shrimp, but are still wondering what
on Earth do
mantis shrimp have to do with Terressentials. Give me just one
moment, and I'll get to it, I promise.
Mantis
shrimp evolved naturally over time just the way they are – full of
color and with super-sensory abilities. They are not glowing mice or
kittens manufactured in labs for scientific research and profit.
Other
naturally-evolved creations of this planet include the organic herbs
that Terressentials uses in our USDA certified organic body care
products. These herbs are not
crafted with chemicals, poked at in a petri dish, or reacted in
industrial manufacturing facilities. The herbs we use grow under the
sun, with the wind blowing through their leaves and the rain
nourishing their roots. No chemical changes to Mother Nature's design
has been enacted upon these plants. No GMOs, no pesticides, no
herbicides, no irradiation. We feel this
is the way herbs should be treated – as living organisms that are
perfect just the way they are, without human intervention.
So
be it a rainbow colored sea creature from our oceans, or bouquet of
flowers in kaleidoscopic colors, Earth has provided for us and we
need to respect that. We say No! to
chemicals that will harm our pure, healthy bodies and No!
to
contaminants that will harm the planet. And a big NO!
to those
major corporations that are trying to pull the wool over our eyes,
saying it's okay to mess with the natural, pure organisms that have
evolved since the beginning of time. Be like the mantis shrimp –
deliver a super-fast sucker punch to the scheming companies by
proving that there are healthy, USDA certified organic alternatives
to the conventional chemical junk that they've convinced people they
need. Be like the mantis shrimp – see the true colors of these
companies that are just trying to make a profit, and look at the
labels of what you are buying. Be like the mantis shrimp – and
thrive.
