Sea Monkeys. Yes, Sea Monkeys.

I'm sure you remember these playful denizens of the deep from the ancient comic book ads of yesteryear. Like many, my uncles and I gathered change and sent for a set long ago, looking forward to the promised playful pets. These are the same uncles with which I once threw a cat from a second-story window to see if they really do always land on their feet. Let me tell you, cats really do always land on their feet, but nasty things happen to them when they land on their feet from a second-story window. Perhaps it's good that our seamonkeys didn't do much of anything after we put them in the empty fruit jar.

Just for a hoot, I ordered the Executive Sea Monkey set from Ebay a couple weeks ago as a gift for my sons. In the Executive Sea Monkey set, one finds a snazzy black and gold Sea Monkey habitat, a Million Bubble thingy, a squeegie that lights up, a feeding spoon, and an Aqua Leash. Also included are three envelopes which contain water purifier, the Sea Monkeys themselves, and their food.

Per instructions, the boys and I filled the snazzy aquarium and dumped in the water purifier. Twenty-four anxious hours later, it was time to birth our new pets. The Sea Monkeys, when poured into the water, begin to hatch almost immediately. Perhaps the water purifier is what we lacked as a child. Regardless, this set actually works and actually ROCKS.

In the week since we created life, the little guys have grown from floating dots into, well, bizarre creatures. They dart to and fro in an almost haphazard manner that is absolutely enthralling for some reason. Once a day, we insert the Million Bubble thingy and blow lifegiving oxygen into their water with a few squeezes. Maybe that was another thing we were missing as a kid -- we didn't realize the damn things need to breathe.

SO, now I'm a Sea Monkey nut. I can't wait for the walls to grow some of that lovely algae that the Sea Monkeys are reputed to love to eat. Then I get to use the funky light-up squeegee!