Jellies

I never gave jellyfish a thought beyond the typical foul things you think about something that just stung your legs while you were trying to have fun in the sun. 

And then I went to the Jellies exhibit at the Shedd Aquarium and was completely hypnotized by the blobs. The Shedd did an amazing job with the curation (is that what it is called when the thing being described is a living creature?) because I found myself actually reading the writing on the walls.

Here are the three things I will think of when I hear "jellyfish":

1. Researchers study how jellies swim in order to learn more about how the human heart pumps blood. (They also think that jellyfish make the ocean flow)

2. There are jellyfish bigger than a grown human (don't trust the first images in that google search; snopes says no to those) but trusted sources (National Geographic, for one) confirm that there are jellyfish BIGGER THAN PEOPLE.

3. Jellyfish thrive in polluted waters.

Peeing on a sting should no longer be the first thing that comes to mind when I hear "jellyfish".