WEBVTT - How Sea Monkeys Work 0:00:00.560 --> 0:00:03.600 Welcome to brain Stuff from how stuff works dot com 0:00:03.600 --> 0:00:08.840 where smart Happens. Hi Marshall Brain with today's question, how 0:00:08.880 --> 0:00:12.440 do sea monkeys work? Sea monkeys are really a type 0:00:12.440 --> 0:00:15.480 of Brian shrimp, and Brian shrimp are an incredibly cool 0:00:15.560 --> 0:00:19.000 life form. Brian shrimp are naturally found in salt lakes 0:00:19.040 --> 0:00:21.760 like the Great Salt Lake in Utah. In a salt 0:00:21.840 --> 0:00:25.160 lake like this, the water is so salty that the 0:00:25.200 --> 0:00:27.800 only things living in it are the Brian shrimp and 0:00:28.000 --> 0:00:31.000 certain types of algae on which the Brian shrimp feed. 0:00:31.560 --> 0:00:34.320 One of the things that make Brian shrimp fascinating is 0:00:34.360 --> 0:00:39.520 their ability to lay encapsulated eggs called cysts, assist can 0:00:39.600 --> 0:00:43.240 dry out and remain viable for years. If you put 0:00:43.320 --> 0:00:47.280 Brian shrimp cysts in salt water, they hatch very quickly. 0:00:47.400 --> 0:00:50.199 In the shrimp mature in about eight days. They can 0:00:50.200 --> 0:00:52.479 grow to be pretty big for a Brian shrimp, about 0:00:52.560 --> 0:00:55.120 half an inch long. If you want to raise your 0:00:55.120 --> 0:00:58.160 own Brian shrimp, you can do it inexpensively by buying 0:00:58.200 --> 0:01:01.400 the eggs at a pet store. People who keep aquariums 0:01:01.520 --> 0:01:03.840 often raise their own bright and shrimp at home to 0:01:03.880 --> 0:01:07.240 feed to their fish. Do you have any ideas or 0:01:07.280 --> 0:01:10.479 suggestions for this podcast. If so, please send me an 0:01:10.480 --> 0:01:13.720 email at podcast at how stuff works dot com. For 0:01:13.800 --> 0:01:16.080 more on this and thousands of other topics, go to 0:01:16.120 --> 0:01:19.760 how stuff works dot com.