Don't you see them, Mommy?

No, I don't see them! And these photos show the contortions that Paul goes through to see them. I'm referring to Sea Monkeys, sometimes called Sea Monsters. No matter what they are called they are hard as the devil to see. Paul has been interested in them for the past two years or so and we have bought several kits that claim to grow these "creatures." The most recent uses the name of the Smithsonian Institution.


The box claims that:

This informative kit will introduce your child to grow and study the behavior of an amazing creature that hasn't changed for millions of years. By just adding water, your child can bring a dormant creature back to life! The Triops eggs will hatch within 48 hours and will grow to a size of 1-3".

What Sea Monkeys or Sea Monsters really are are brine shrimp, and regardless of the claims that "...the joy of watching Sea-Monkeys grow offers a lot more than just pure fun. It is one of the outstanding educational experiences of a lifetime..." they are still just tiny weird shrimpy things that you have to strain to see, if you see them at all. Paul's latest batch took two weeks to hatch and I can't believe they'll ever grow past the pencil point size they are now. "They" meaning the two that Paul has spotted after a great deal of searching. I couldn't see one until Paul caught it in a teaspoon and then pointed a pencil tip at it.

Can you tell these things drive me crazy?