Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past week, you’ve most likely seen the viral video of the clam slurping up salt off someone’s kitchen table like it was a double chocolate sundae with whipped cream and sprinkles on top. Most people who wrote about it thought it was funny, but I felt sorry for that little guy, so I chose not to write about it.
However, I read some new information this morning that made me change my mind. As it turns out, Charlie the clam (yeah, I’ve watched it so many times now that I decided to name him) doesn’t like salt after all. So before the whole world, or at least the 1.6 million people who have watched this video in the past week, start thinking that clams like salt, I’d like to set the record straight. According to what I’ve read on Business Insider and several other websites, this clam is not eating the salt.
As a matter of fact, clams don’t even eat like this in the first place; they eat by filtering small plant particles from the water using their gills. So far two marine biologists have confirmed that the clam is confused and just sticking out that foot to dig down into the mud and sediment which is where they normally live. He’s just trying to dig home, but he’s stuck on someone’s kitchen table and can’t do that. He’s only trying to survive. Since that muscular foot is wet, the salt is simply sticking to it. This reminds me of the Octopus That Lives In A Beer Bottle. So sad.
Image Credit: [Mail Online]
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