Join us in exploring more about the jellyfish, as the 500 million-year-old sea creature is celebrated on Nov. 3 - Jellyfish Day - according to Days of the Year. If you don't live close to a beach or aquarium to pay homage to our invertebrate friends, you can check out the video here and see what makes the jellyfish so special and unique.
Unfortunately, not everything about the jellyfish is pleasant, if you have ever been stung by one, you will understand that statement all too well. Most don't forget the pain! The word "sting" conjures up something much lighter than the jellyfish actually delivers. Depending on the type of jellyfish, it can be downright excruciating and even deadly.
The box jellyfish, native to northern Australian waters, has a sting that can stop a person's heart in just three minutes. Jellyfish can kill, and do, according to the Smithsonian. Just in the Philippines alone, each year, 20 to 40 people die from jellyfish stings.
Jellies also can be quite prolific. One female breeding jellyfish can release up to 45,000 unfertilized eggs per day. Moon jellyfish of both sexes mass together in giant sperm-meets-eggs orgies with millions of jellies attending the ocean sex party.
While each type of jellyfish is totally different, they do have basic similarities, including having one opening that serves as both their mouth and their anus, according to Geobeats.
They are also very powerful. A swarm of jellyfish once landed in the pipes of a Swedish nuclear plant, shutting the plant down temporarily. Now that's some power!
Jellyfish are bizarre creatures that have survived hundreds of millions of years while no other species has been able to duplicate their resilience. So, odd looking and strange acting, sure, but it's the jellies uniqueness that has kept them surviving through the millions of years to continue to intrigue generations to come.
