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WONDER OF THE WEEK
"The purpose of all these wonders is to make us aware that Hashem is there and that He is the One who brought these wonders about."
Rabbi Avigdor Miller (Ohr Avigdor, Chovos Halevavos)
SEA SNAILS
In my vitrina I have a bowl full of beautiful jewels. Before I get bombarded with phone calls asking for donations, I have to tell you these are not the kinds of jewels people pay thousands of dollars for but in my opinion are even more beautiful and enjoyable to look at. My jewels come from a tour I took of the 10,000 islands off the coast of Florida in the Everglades. My guide, Captain Craig, took me to a special island where we were no one lives and it is permitted to take home the sea snail shells that are found along the beach. We found what have to be some of the most beautiful shells on earth and another example of how wondrous Hashem's creations are as even after the snails have gone, my family gets to continually enjoy the beauty of Hashem's creations in our home.
While these shells are marvelous in and of themselves, the spectacular shells got me thinking about what sea snails were, how they grow their shells, and how they live. So this is what I found out. There are thousands of different types of sea snails but they all have some things in common. All sea snails are in the mollusk family of animals which means they have soft bodies, generally live in shells, and do not have a backbone. Sea snails hatch as eggs and one of the first things they eat is the eggs they were born in because they are rich in calcium which is what their shells are made of. They try to eat as many calcium-based foods as they can, like corals, when young because Hashem put in their bodies the ability to produce a hard calcium structure to surround and protect their delicate bodies.
Sea snails' shells grow in a spiral shape and most are ' right-handed' meaning the spiral grows in a clockwise direction but some are 'left-handed' and their spirals grow counterclockwise. While most sea snails grow shells that are spirally coiled, some have shells that are cone-shaped. Some eat sea plants while others eat worms, fish, and other snails. They don't have actual teeth but Hashem gave them a sort of ribbon-like structure called a radulus to grind and tear food. They don't move too fast but can get around via a single "foot" they have which is a relatively large muscular organ beneath their bodies. They also have gills like fish so they can breathe underwater.
If you look at their heads you will see two sets of tentacles. The top two are longer and called eye stalks because they have little eyes on their ends so they can see where they are going. The bottom two are called feelers because they can feel and taste the ground in front of them which helps them find food.

While there are so many particular snails we could talk about, each with the amazing properties Hashem designed them with, we only have enough space for two. The first was mentioned already, or sort of mentioned anyway. There is one land snail called the vitrina pelucida or glass snail which has a clear shell and is the source of the word we use for the glass-covered furniture called vitrinas. The second has a shell that was discovered to be so strong it is being studied by military professionals on how to develop more sophisticated armor.
While all sea snails have hard protective shells that their whole body can fit into when in danger, there is one that Hashem made called the volcano snail that has an extraordinarily strong, so strong that it can withstand temperatures of 750 degrees F and has the strongest exoskeleton (body armor) of any animal ever found. The reason why these snails have such hard shells is that Hashem wanted their home to be right next to boiling hot hydrothermal vents at the bottom of the ocean, so he designed their bodies in a way that their fragile bodies 'enjoy' the heat.
These snails are also referred to as the scaly-foot gastropod and the sea pangolin. The way Hashem makes their shells so strong is by way of the iron it is made up of. Volcano snails are the only animal that is able to eat and utilize iron in the structure of their body. Their shell designs are so incredible and strong, that researchers believe replicating their shell designs will make it possible to produce stronger armor for soldiers, tanks, and helicopters. So if anyone ever asks you if Hashem can make a creature that can eat iron, has bulletproof armor, and can live comfortably in temperatures hotter than your oven, remember that the answer is a definite yes as well as make whatever else He wants to be a part of our world.
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