Eli5: How/ why do oysters make pearls?
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I don’t know the nitty gritty of it but if I remember correctly it occurs when they get a foreign contaminate, usually sand, inside their shell. It irrates the internal body of the oyster and to combat this the oyster starts secreting a substance that turns into a pearl which is far less irritating than the gritty sand.
I don’t know the nitty gritty of it but if I remember correctly it occurs when they get a foreign contaminate, usually sand, inside their shell. It irrates the internal body of the oyster and to combat this the oyster starts secreting a substance that turns into a pearl which is far less irritating than the gritty sand.
I don’t know the nitty gritty of it but if I remember correctly it occurs when they get a foreign contaminate, usually sand, inside their shell. It irrates the internal body of the oyster and to combat this the oyster starts secreting a substance that turns into a pearl which is far less irritating than the gritty sand.
Ever get a grain of sand in your mouth? It sucks.
If the oyster can’t spit it out, it secretes a smooth calcium-ish coating that fills in the rough edges and reduces irritation.
Ever get a grain of sand in your mouth? It sucks.
If the oyster can’t spit it out, it secretes a smooth calcium-ish coating that fills in the rough edges and reduces irritation.
Ever get a grain of sand in your mouth? It sucks.
If the oyster can’t spit it out, it secretes a smooth calcium-ish coating that fills in the rough edges and reduces irritation.
Oysters and clams and mussels have shells, but they don’t really have skin. So if a grain of sand or a rock or something rough or sharp gets inside the shell, it’s in there with what are basically the clam’s organs. It scrape and scuff and cut them constantly.
And there’s no good way for the clam to spit out the sand, either. So they grow a kind-of-soft layer on the inside of their shell, called nacre (nay-cur) or mother-of-pearl (see where this is going?). That layer rubs off *onto the rock,* filling in its cracks and building up into a smooth surface that doesn’t scratch and grind anymore. And that’s a pearl.
Oysters and clams and mussels have shells, but they don’t really have skin. So if a grain of sand or a rock or something rough or sharp gets inside the shell, it’s in there with what are basically the clam’s organs. It scrape and scuff and cut them constantly.
And there’s no good way for the clam to spit out the sand, either. So they grow a kind-of-soft layer on the inside of their shell, called nacre (nay-cur) or mother-of-pearl (see where this is going?). That layer rubs off *onto the rock,* filling in its cracks and building up into a smooth surface that doesn’t scratch and grind anymore. And that’s a pearl.
Pearls occur where a contaminant like a grain of sand gets inside the shell of the oyster.
Because these particles could cause damage and harm the soft internals of the oyster, the pearl is formed as a defense mechanism – the oyster secretes a special substance that coats the sand or other particle and forms a smooth, hard casing around it, preventing irritation to the oyster.
Over time this secretion builds up and the pearls grow in size as layers get added.
Pearls occur where a contaminant like a grain of sand gets inside the shell of the oyster.
Because these particles could cause damage and harm the soft internals of the oyster, the pearl is formed as a defense mechanism – the oyster secretes a special substance that coats the sand or other particle and forms a smooth, hard casing around it, preventing irritation to the oyster.
Over time this secretion builds up and the pearls grow in size as layers get added.
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