SPONGES: THE FIRST SNEEZE

A team of scientists in the Netherlands have determined that the origin of sneezing dates back more than 600 million years — to the sponge. A sneeze is an involuntary release of air to get rid of irritants. Sponges have been around since the Precambrian era and they, too, developed a way of ejecting waste. Sponges “sneeze” to unclog internal filter systems that capture nutrients from the water. Study author Jasper de Goeij, a marine biologist at the University of Amsterdam, says, “Let’s be clear: sponges don’t sneeze like humans do. A sponge sneeze takes about half an hour to complete. But both sponge and human sneezes exist as a waste disposal mechanism.”
* Instead of going, “Ah-choo!” it’s more of an “Ah-squish” sound.
* If you wait another hour or two, sometimes you can see the sponge get out its handkerchief.
* Whenever a sponge has trouble sneezing, it has to look into the sunfish.
* Uh … y’know, the way sponges are built, it’s equally possible that what he’s talking could be a fart. Just sayin’.
* I wonder if Jasper de Goeij feels bad when he’s at home cleaning his countertops with a sponge?
* These guys are next going to see if it’s true that starfish were the first creatures to pick their nose.