The allure of bubbles spans the ages: Take, for example, their use in 16th-century art as a reminder of life’s fleetingness, or their 2014 induction into the National Toy Hall of Fame. And if you’re looking for a new take on the age-old toy, check out the Jatropha curcas shrub, aka the bubble bush. The tropical plant — native to Central America, Mexico, and parts of South America and the Caribbean — is known for a sticky sap that could be called Mother Nature’s own bubble solution. When plucked from the bush, branches leak a foamy liquid and can be used as an all-in-one bubble wand; just snap the twig in half and blow. 

Bubbles can help pollinate plants.

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Bubbles may be able to help bees with their work. In a 2020 study, researchers found that pollen-filled bubbles sprayed into pear trees helped produce just as much fruit as trees that were hand-pollinated — a potential time-saving strategy for regions with honeybee shortages.

Bubble bushes get their standout sap from naturally occurring chemicals called saponins, a foaming compound used in soaps and food. Related to poinsettias and castor oil plants, Jatropha curcas is similarly toxic to humans and animals if eaten (and can also cause skin rashes and irritate eyes). Despite its toxicity — along with the fact that bubble bushes are considered invasive species throughout much of Asia, where they’re commonly found — the plant does have benefits beyond bubbles. Jatropha bushes are vigorous growers perfect for creating natural fences and boundaries, and they’re known for effectively combating soil erosion around waterways and in regions with heavy rainfall. Some parts of the plant are used in pharmaceuticals to treat infections and diseases such as cancer. And while research is pending, it’s suspected that these bubbling wonders could be an environmentally friendly source of biofuel.

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For most of human history, sharks were considered fairly harmless, a perception that changed forever with the 1975 release of Steven Spielberg’s Jaws. Relative to the total amount of time sharks have been around, however, “most of human history” is just the blink of an eye. 

Sharks don't have bones.

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Their skeletons are made entirely of light and flexible cartilage, which allows them to swim faster than some of their prey.

Having existed for somewhere between 400 million and 450 million years, these fish are older than just about anything you can think of — including Saturn’s rings. While the planet Saturn itself formed some 4.5 billion years ago alongside the rest of our solar system, its rings formed between 10 million and 100 million years ago, making them relatively recent in the grand scheme of things.

And just for fun, here are some other things sharks are older than: trees (which are roughly 390 million years old), the North Star (70 million years), and the Atlantic Ocean (150 million years). That’s right — sharks have existed longer than one of the oceans they now swim in, as the Atlantic didn’t form until the supercontinent Pangea broke apart.

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The animal kingdom is chock-full of strange eyeballs, from the free-roaming peepers of a chameleon (which can move each of its eyes independently) to the W-shaped pupils of a cuttlefish. But one of the strangest attributes of any eyeball on Earth belongs to the whale shark (Rhincodon typus). Because these gentle giants of the sea don’t have eyelids to protect their organs of sight, they’ve developed thousands of tiny teeth known as “dermal denticles” to fend off any potentially vision-damaging elements the ocean might throw at them, whether it’s items drifting in the sea or biochemical hazards. In 2020, scientists in Japan discovered the denticles when analyzing both dead and living sharks, and estimated that each eye could have as many as nearly 3,000 of these tiny teeth. When viewed under a microscope, the denticles resemble the shape of an oak leaf, but much smaller.

The whale shark is the biggest fish in the world.

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The whale shark is the largest fish in the world, and it’s not even close. Its closest competition, the basking shark, stretches some 40 feet, but the whale shark has clocked in at a little more than 60 feet, which is about the same length as a bowling lane.

Dermal denticles are commonly found on many shark species’ skin, acting like scales that cut down on turbulence and drag when gliding through the water. However, the whale shark is the only species in whom these denticles congregate around the iris. This scale-like armor, combined with the whale shark’s unique ability to retract its eyes into its sockets, has scientists reexamining the importance of a whale shark’s vision. For years, scientists believed that whale sharks largely navigated the world through their sense of smell, but these two distinct evolutionary defenses could mean that vision is much more important to the species than previously thought. It’s often said that humans know more about the surface of Mars than what’s going on in the world’s oceans, and the surprisingly recent discovery of this fascinating ocular biology hints at how many more mysteries might await us in the deep.

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Eating eel is common around the world, especially in Japan, where it’s often found in sushi. But whether it’s freshwater or marine eel, the animal is always served cooked, because toxins found in its blood can cause extreme muscle cramping if consumed by humans. This cramping can affect your body’s most important muscle — the heart — which is why eating raw eel can be fatal. Luckily, when eels are cooked, those deadly toxins break down and the animal becomes safe to consume. This is good news for chefs, since eel provides a rich taste similar to squid but with a softer texture. 

All animals contain some form of blood.

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Although blood is a common trait among most animals, it’s not necessarily a prerequisite. Flatworms, nematodes, sea anemones, and jellyfish don’t have blood, and animals like starfish instead use seawater to transfer vital nutrients throughout their bodies.

Although eel blood is a particularly dangerous fluid, that didn’t stop French physiologist Charles Richet from experimenting with the stuff in the early 1900s. Inspired by fellow countryman Louis Pasteur and his discoveries in immunology, Richet experimented with a toxin found in eel blood serum and discovered the hypersensitivity reaction known as anaphylaxis. “Phylaxis, a word seldom used, stands in the Greek for protection,” Richet said during a lecture after receiving the Nobel Prize for his work in 1913. “Anaphylaxis will thus stand for the opposite.” So while the everyday eel may be a slippery, slimy, and all-around unappealing animal to some, it holds a distinguished position in the annals of both scientific history and culinary delight.

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