How do oysters make pearls?

Summary

Brains On! Science Podcast for Kids

Episode: How do oysters make pearls?

Date: July 7, 2026

Hosts: Molly Bloom & Katherine (kid co-host from Toronto)

Guest Expert: Priya Shukla (oyster scientist), Manika Wilhelm (Brains On contributor)

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Episode Overview

This episode dives into the fascinating world of oysters and the science behind pearls. Hosted by Molly Bloom and co-hosted by Katherine from Toronto, the show answers a listener-submitted question: “How do oysters make pearls?” Along the way, the episode explores the biology of oysters, the role they play in ocean ecosystems, and the quirky, kid-friendly details about mollusks, with help from oyster scientist Priya Shukla and Brains On contributor Manika Wilhelm.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. What are Oysters? (02:19–05:04)

• Oysters are sea creatures living inside hard shells, resembling “gray, bumpy rocks.”
• Katherine’s description: "It kind of looks like a clam. It's like a sea creature, but it lives inside a shell." (02:32)
• Young oysters, or larvae, are tiny enough to sit on a pencil tip and start life able to swim. As adults, they stay put. (05:23–05:48)

2. Oyster Life & Ecosystem Role (05:04–09:13)

• Oysters find a home by "smelling" the water (without a nose) to find a snack-rich spot—usually in estuaries.
  • Priya Shukla: "They sense smells from inside their shell... because they want to settle down in a place with lots of snacks." (06:07)
• They feed on microscopic algae and plankton; Priya Shukla: "Their food sits in the water." (07:17)
• Oysters filter huge amounts of water to eat and breathe; a single oyster can filter up to 50 gallons per day. (08:16)
  • Priya Shukla: "They are sometimes filtering up to 50 gallons of water a day." (08:16)
• Oysters build "neighborhoods," which provide hiding places for fish and help maintain healthy oceans. (08:45–08:57)

3. Pearl Formation — The Main Event (13:09–21:00)

What Triggers Pearl Formation?

• Any irritant stuck inside an oyster’s shell—like a bit of shell, a parasite, or debris—can start the process.
  • Manika Wilhelm: "For mollusks, making a pearl is actually a little like putting on a Band-Aid. It's a way to make their ouchies stop bothering them." (16:00)

The Biology of Pearls

• Oysters (and other mollusks!) protect themselves by coating the irritant with layers of "shell gel," a mixture of gluey proteins, minerals, and crystals—the same stuff used to build their shells.
  • Manika Wilhelm: "To make its shell, a mollusk will squirt out a mixture of goo… a gel, like a shell gel." (17:06)
  • Manika Wilhelm: "They're always making the shell gel and sweating it out. To grow their shells. To make a pearl, they use the same mix, but they put extra gel around their ouchie." (17:23)
• This process takes months or even years, creating pearls in many shapes—round, oval, lump, or even worm-shaped, depending on the shape of the irritant. (19:02)

Pearl Color and Shine

• Pearls take their color from the inside of the mollusk’s shell. Pearls can be white, black, pink, orange, or even purple, depending on the species.
  • Manika Wilhelm: "A pearl will always be the same color as the inside of its shell." (19:31)
• The signature shiny, rainbow-hued look is called iridescence, produced by special crystals in the "shell gel" called nacre.
  • Molly Bloom: "They can look purple and pink and white at different angles. That's called iridescence." (19:58)
  • Manika Wilhelm: "We have a name for the special iridescent material that makes shiny pearls. It's called nacre." (20:07)

Not Just Oysters: Mollusks Are Pearl Makers!

• Other mollusks such as clams, mussels, scallops, and conches also make pearls, though they may not look the same as those from oysters. (14:41)

Natural vs. Cultured Pearls

• Naturally occurring pearls are rare—you’d have to open thousands of oysters to find one!
• Most pearls in jewelry are cultivated on pearl farms, where a bead is intentionally inserted to prompt pearl-making.
  • Manika Wilhelm: "So when you see a pearl necklace, its pearls were probably made on a pearl farm where they bother oysters and mussels with beads to create perfectly round pearls." (20:27)

Memorable moment:

• Molly Bloom: "So, to oysters, pearls aren't bling, they're band-aids." (20:42)
• Katherine: "Shiny round band-aids." (20:47)

4. Fun Facts & Segments

Mollusk Game Show (23:23–27:39)

• Molly quizzes Katherine in "Mollusk Bling or Made-Up Thing" about sea creatures and pearl trivia.
  • Example: The "giga pearl" is the largest pearl ever found, weighing 60 pounds and made by a giant clam near the Philippines. (26:06)

Mystery Sound (09:25, 28:39, 29:56)

• A recurring guessing game. The episode’s sound turns out to be darts hitting a dartboard in a listener’s room in Australia. (29:58)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Priya Shukla [on oysters as babies]: "My heart belongs to these little shelled creatures that only move at the earliest stages of their lives when they're teeny tiny." (05:15)
• Priya Shukla: "When they keep taking in all of that water, that actually cleans the water around them." (07:57)
• Katherine [on the oyster’s opinion of her]: "I think an oyster would probably think I'm just a giant. Why is this person so big?" (03:52)
• Manika Wilhelm: "For mollusks, making a pearl is actually a little like putting on a Band-Aid. It's a way to make their ouchies stop bothering them." (16:00)
• Molly Bloom: "So, to oysters. Pearls aren't bling, they're band-aids." (20:42)
• Manika Wilhelm [on mollusk style]: "Side note, I would love to know what a mollusk would consider bling." (20:50)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• What are oysters? – 02:19–05:04
• Oyster life and eating habits – 05:04–09:13
• How do pearls form? – 13:09–21:00
• Mollusk Bling or Made-Up Thing (Game Show) – 23:23–27:39
• Pearls: Colors, Rarity, Fact vs. Fiction – 19:02–21:00
• Mystery Sound reveals – 09:25, 28:39, 29:56

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Episode Takeaways

• Oysters start life as tiny swimmers but mature into water-filtering, stationary shellfish.
• They help create clean water and provide important habitat for other sea creatures.
• Pearls form when an irritant gets trapped inside a mollusk’s shell; the animal coats it in layers of shell-building materials (nacre) to protect itself.
• Pearls' color and shine depend on the mollusk species; many kinds of mollusks besides oysters can make pearls.
• Most pearls in jewelry are made intentionally on pearl farms, not found in the wild.

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Original kid-friendly and curious tone preserved throughout; chock full of "eww," "aww," and "whoa!" moments for science lovers of all ages.

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Quotes, science facts, and timestamps included for easy reference.

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Perfect for kids, parents, and anyone curious about the wonders hiding inside a humble oyster shell!

Transcript

[Manika Wilhelm]

Lemonade.

[Katherine]

Brains on Universe. You're listening to Brains on, where we're serious about being curious. Sometimes wonderful things have surprising beginnings.

[Molly Bloom]

Like how scoopable, delicious ice cream starts out as milk soup.

[Katherine]

Or how some really fun songs start out all twinkly and then bring in a bunch of bass

[Molly Bloom]

and pearls. They're smooth, hard, shiny white balls.

[Katherine]

And they come from something squishy and slimy that lives in a shell, a

[Molly Bloom]

sea creature called an oyster.

[Priya Shukla]

It's not the most attractive thing. It kind of looks like a giant booger.

[Molly Bloom]

So how does a booger that lives in a shell create something pretty enough to sell?

[Katherine]

We're going to find out. Keep listening.

[Sandon]

Hey, Sandon here. Molly, Mark and I have been on tour a lot this year doing our live show. And every city we go to, we meet the coolest kids. Before the show, I like to do magic tricks. And more often than not, the second I finish a trick, these kids are trying to figure out exactly how it works. Sometimes they even do figure it out, but that doesn't bother me. It shows me they're curious, they have questions. They want to understand everything. And that's the attitude we hope to encourage here at Brainson. When you join Smartypass, you're supporting this and helping us build shows that feed that sense of curiosity in countless brains. Plus, we give you bonus episodes online hangouts with us. You can even get a special message from me, Molly, Mark, or Joy. So help us keep spreading Curiosity. Go to smartypast.org and support Brains On. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

[Molly Bloom]

Ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba.

[Russell]

Brains On.

[Molly Bloom]

You're listening to Brains on, part of the Brains on universe. I'm Molly Bloom and my co host today is Katherine from Toronto. Hi, Katherine.

[Katherine]

Hi, Molly.

[Molly Bloom]

Today we're cracking open this question.

[Katherine]

My name is Theo. My name is Tavi. And my name is Gracie. We're from Kansas City, Missouri. And our question is, how do oysters make pearls?

[Molly Bloom]

Such a good question. Catherine, do you know what an oyster is?

[Katherine]

Yeah, I do know what an oyster is. I would describe it. It kind of looks like a clam. It's like a sea creature, but it lives inside. Like a shell.

[Molly Bloom]

Exactly. Yeah. From the outside, they kind of look like a gray, bumpy rock. And they come in all different sizes. Sometimes the size of a small avocado, but flatter. And inside is where you find the animal itself. And it's a soft squ. The shell completely closes around the animal's soft body to protect it. Catherine, have you seen an oyster in Person before?

[Katherine]

Yes, I have seen an oyster in person, but it wasn't like live. I saw it cooked at like a restaurant.

[Molly Bloom]

Have you ever eaten an oyster?

[Katherine]

No, I haven't. Seafood sometimes isn't really my thing.

[Molly Bloom]

Gotcha. Yeah. There's a lot of textures and smells and things that might be off putting to people, but I know, like, I have a lot of family members who love to eat oysters. Do you have a favorite sea creature not to eat, but just to appreciate?

[Katherine]

Yes, I do. I love seals. I just think they're so cute.

[Molly Bloom]

They are so cute. Yeah. Oysters seem pretty weird to us. They're not, you know, like the cute cuddly seal, but, you know, we probably seem weird to oysters too. What do you think an oyster would think of you if it met you?

[Katherine]

I think an oyster would probably think I'm just a giant. Why is this person so big?

[Molly Bloom]

Exactly.

[Sandon]

Yeah.

[Molly Bloom]

One cool thing about oysters is that sometimes inside that shell, oysters make a pearl. So Katherine, if you had to describe a pearl, how would you describe it?

[Katherine]

I would describe a pearl by saying it's like a shiny white ball, but it does have like some iridescent glow.

[Molly Bloom]

Oh, yes, that is a really good description. So do you like pearls or like fancy jewelry in general?

[Katherine]

I think pearls are really pretty, but sometimes fancy jewelry can be a bit much.

[Molly Bloom]

Agreed, Agreed. Yeah, pearls are really beautiful though. And they come. They also come in different colors and sizes. There's a big variety of pearls, but a lot of the pearls that people think of are shiny whitish beads that you might see on bracelets and necklaces. So how do these shelly sea things make pearls anyway?

[Katherine]

It's a great question because oysters are

[Molly Bloom]

kind of mysterious, the strong silent type. They sure can keep a lot to

[Katherine]

them shelves, but I bet we can get them to open up to us. We want to know how the oyster side lives.

[Molly Bloom]

So before we unfurl pearls, let's learn more about oysters. We asked Priya Shukla to fill us in. She's an oyster scientist in California and a huge fan.

[Priya Shukla]

My heart belongs to these little shelled creatures that only move at the earliest stages of their lives when they're teeny tiny.

[Katherine]

Priya said oysters are born as little bitty specks in the ocean. Basically oyster larvae.

[Molly Bloom]

Small enough that a tiny baby oyster could sit on the pointy tip of a pencil.

[Katherine]

Yikes. That would be a pokey chair for sure.

[Molly Bloom]

Even then, a baby oyster has a little shell protecting it, just like a grown up oyster.

[Katherine]

But unlike grown up Oysters. Baby oysters can swim around.

[Molly Bloom]

They squirt water out of their tiny shells to move. They swirl through the sea, hunting for their forever home.

[Priya Shukla]

And then they eventually find a spot that smells good. And they stay there for the rest of their lives.

[Katherine]

Oysters can't really see. They smell their way towards stuff, but they don't have noses.

[Molly Bloom]

They sense smells from inside their shell. And they follow smells because they want to settle down in a place with lots of snacks.

[Katherine]

Super teeny oyster snacks.

[Priya Shukla]

Their food sits in the water. They eat something called algae or plankton.

[Molly Bloom]

We can't see those things either. But sometimes when you're near the water, you can smell them.

[Katherine]

Think salty, fishy notes of compost and shrimp.

[Molly Bloom]

For an oyster, that's the smell of a good place to settle down. These oyster snacks live at the edge of the ocean, where streams and rivers flow into the sea. It's a place called an estuary.

[Priya Shukla]

It's muddy. You might even say it's a little stinky. But that tells you that there's a lot happening right there.

[Katherine]

Stinky mud. The ocean's hottest club for oysters.

[Molly Bloom]

The perfect place for oysters to get everything they need.

[Katherine]

Plenty of plankton, all the algae you can eat, and seawater as far as you can see.

[Molly Bloom]

To breathe and eat, oysters crack their shell open and sip in water.

[Katherine]

And they bring that water into their soft, whitish bodies.

[Priya Shukla]

It kind of looks like a giant booger. I'm gonna be honest with you.

[Molly Bloom]

A giant booger that's alive and gets bigger over time.

[Priya Shukla]

They can be really small or grow to be as large as your shoe.

[Katherine]

As their body gets bigger, they grow their shells outward to get more space.

[Molly Bloom]

It would be like if your room grew as you did. To grow, they sip in a lot of water, full of the minerals and other things they need.

[Priya Shukla]

So they're like guzzling when the tide is in. When the tide goes out, they just hunker down.

[Molly Bloom]

And to get rid of the things they don't need, oysters just squirt water back out.

[Katherine]

Their sipping and squirting is great for the ocean.

[Priya Shukla]

When they keep taking in all of that water that actually cleans the water around them.

[Katherine]

They're like nature's water filters, cleaning the water as sip and spit.

[Molly Bloom]

Every day, one oyster sips in and squirts out enough water to fill a bathtub all the way to the tippy top.

[Priya Shukla]

And so what that means is that they are sometimes filtering up to 50 gallons of water a day.

[Katherine]

That's a lot of clean water for their Fishy friends.

[Molly Bloom]

When oysters settle down, they make cozy spaces for fish and other creatures to hang out in.

[Katherine]

The oysters usually settle down together by latching onto something hard underwater, maybe a rock or even part of a dock.

[Molly Bloom]

And they often settle down in large groups, creating oyster neighborhoods.

[Priya Shukla]

When you get all of these oysters together, it's kind of like a jumble of legos that you haven't quite put together. And so it creates all of these little nooks and crannies and hidey holes for the fish to live in.

[Katherine]

Cozy corner hidey hole.

[Molly Bloom]

Sipping and spitting all day in the stinky mud club.

[Katherine]

Count me in.

[Molly Bloom]

Oysters seem super chill. I get why Priya is such a fan.

[Priya Shukla]

They're so cool. I'm obsessed.

[Molly Bloom]

But how do these chill creatures make hard pearls with their booger bodies?

[Katherine]

We'll find out in a sec.

[Molly Bloom]

But first, let's crack open the mystery cell. Okay, Catherine, here's the mystery sound.

[Katherine]

It kind of sounds like somebody like knocking on a wall or like a table.

[Molly Bloom]

Do you want to hear it again? Yeah, here it is. So I know what this one is. So I can't guess today, but if you had to say what could be making that knocking sound?

[Katherine]

I don't know, there could be like instruments hitting or. But like when you're really far. I know I've heard this sometimes in my house I hear a noise like this. Like maybe like my parents are like cutting vegetables on like a cutting board.

[Molly Bloom]

That's a good guess. I like it. All right, so we're gonna hear it again. Get another chance to guess and hear the answer at the end of the show.

[Katherine]

So keep listening.

[Molly Bloom]

We are working on an episode about why we like to move our bodies to music.

[Katherine]

Humans hear a beat and we can't help but tap our toes, bob our heads or break into a full on dance number.

[Molly Bloom]

There are so many types of dance in the world too. Some have got gotten really popular.

[Katherine]

If you got to create the next big dance craze, what would it be?

[Molly Bloom]

Something like the Running man where you run in place or flossing or the

[Katherine]

hot to go dance.

[Molly Bloom]

Make up a dance and tell us about it. Bonus points if it's science y of course. Record yourself describing the dance or even doing the dance. Then send it to [e-mail] contact we'll feature your dances in our episode. You can also send us mystery sounds, drawings, questions and feedback.

[Katherine]

That's brainson.org thanks.

[Molly Bloom]

Today's episode is sponsored by Shopify. When Brains on Universe went independent recently we had a lot of decisions to make and one of them was trying to figure out what to do with our online merch store. And we turned to Shopify. Shopify's templates and tools get you a stunning site up and running fast. And you don't need to know how to code Shopify. Checkout means more customers actually buy stuff, and returning ones can do it in a single click if questions come up. Shopify's built in assistant sidekick is ready to help you build, troubleshoot, and keep moving. Because Shopify handles the setup and checkout, you have more time to focus on growing your business and they give you the tools to do it. Shopify powers millions of businesses worldwide, from household names like Mattel and Gymshark to small businesses just getting started independent kids podcasts like us. All you need is the idea. Shopify handles the rest. Start your free [e-mail] brainson Again, that's shopify.com brainson

[Katherine]

brainson.

[Molly Bloom]

This is Brains on. I'm Molly.

[Katherine]

And I'm Katherine. And we're learning about oysters.

[Molly Bloom]

Those squishy booger bodied animals that live in a hard shell.

[Katherine]

They swim when they're little but stay put as adults.

[Molly Bloom]

And they help clean ocean water by sipping and spitting throughout the day.

[Manika Wilhelm]

Molly, Katherine. Are you guys still taping the oyster episode?

[Molly Bloom]

As I live and breathe. Is that our dear friend of the show, Manika Wilhelm?

[Manika Wilhelm]

That's me.

[Katherine]

Hi, Manica. So fun to see you back from that sheep shearing school.

[Manika Wilhelm]

Hi, Katherine. Yeah, that was a blast.

[Molly Bloom]

And I see you picked up some sheepish.

[Manika Wilhelm]

That's right. Sorry. Guess you can take me out of the sheep herd. But you can't herd the sheep out of my heart. Anyways, I ran right over when I saw the brains on billboard said today's question was about oysters and pearls. I've been getting super into mollusking and oysters are one of my top mollusks.

[Katherine]

Mollusking?

[Manika Wilhelm]

Yeah. You know how some people are into birds? They listen and watch for birds and make a big list of all the ones they've seen.

[Molly Bloom]

Oh, yeah. They wear binoculars and vests and call themselves birders.

[Manika Wilhelm]

Yeah, but I'm a mollusker. Just like your family, Molly. Isn't that why they named you Molly? Short for mollusk, right?

[Molly Bloom]

No, it's just Molly.

[Unknown Male Voice (possibly Russell's friend)]

Huh.

[Manika Wilhelm]

I'll have to change your contact in my phone.

[Katherine]

I think mollusking sounds pretty cool actually.

[Manika Wilhelm]

It totally is, because molluscs are actually a big group of creatures. Clams and mussels are mollusks too. And conches. Those are the sea snails that make swirly conch shells. And get this. Lots of mollusks make a version of a pearl. It's not just oysters.

[Russell]

What?

[Molly Bloom]

Plot twist. Wow.

[Manika Wilhelm]

Yeah. Clams, oysters, mussels, scallops, conches. All of them are little pearl makers. The pearls they make don't all look exactly the same, but they all come from the same situation. Remember how oysters suck in tons of water each day?

[Russell]

Yeah.

[Katherine]

It's how they eat.

[Molly Bloom]

And then they filter the water and squirt out the stuff they don't need.

[Manika Wilhelm]

Right. But sometimes something from the ocean gets stuck in their shell.

[Russell]

Oh, clamberly. Help. There's something in my shell. I think it's a piece of someone else's shell.

[Katherine]

Oh.

[Unknown Male Voice (possibly Russell's friend)]

Rustle the muscle. No, that's horrible.

[Russell]

And I try to flush it out with the rest of my squirts, but no, it's totally stuck. It itches, it hurts. And I don't have any hands to get rid of it.

[Unknown Male Voice (possibly Russell's friend)]

Shoot. I want to help, but. Me neither.

[Manika Wilhelm]

This doesn't happen very often since mollusks are great at filtering ocean water. But when it does, it doesn't feel good. It's almost like when we get a splinter. But they can't pull a splinter out.

[Katherine]

Right. They don't have hands. A classic problem.

[Manika Wilhelm]

Exactly. For mollusks, making a pearl is actually a little like putting on a Band aid. It's a way to make their ouchies stop bothering them.

[Katherine]

Except that a sticky band aid will still be very uncomfortable for a mollusk.

[Molly Bloom]

Right. They need a band aid that feels like a shell.

[Unknown Male Voice (possibly Russell's friend)]

Okay, Russell.

[Russell]

Ah.

[Unknown Male Voice (possibly Russell's friend)]

Deep breaths.

[Noah]

Ah.

[Russell]

What? I'd give anything to go back to the days when the only thing touching my body was my comfy shell.

[Unknown Male Voice (possibly Russell's friend)]

You're gonna make it through this. Remember, you're the one who made that shell. The comfy, perfect shell that you love to wear.

[Russell]

I did? Oh, right. Yeah, I did.

[Unknown Male Voice (possibly Russell's friend)]

You just need to do that again. But around that thing stuck in your body.

[Manika Wilhelm]

To make its shell, a mollusk will squirt out a mixture of goo. Kind of a gel, like a shell gel. The mollusk will sweat this gel out over its body. And then the gel hardens to protect it. So a mollusk's shell is made of many, many layers of this shell gel.

[Katherine]

And what's in the shell gel?

[Manika Wilhelm]

It's a mixture of gluey proteins that hold everything together. And minerals and crystals. That's a crystal. Shelled mollusks are always making the shell gel and sweating it out. To grow their shells. To make a pearl, they use the Same mix, but they put extra gel around their aui.

[Russell]

Ack. Wait. Clamberly. I can't remember. Where do I get the the ingredients for shell gel? Do I order it online?

[Unknown Male Voice (possibly Russell's friend)]

Wait, Russell, you have a computer. Never mind. You've got the ingredients in your body already. You pulled them out of the ocean when you were sipping and filtering the sea water, remember?

[Russell]

Ah, of course. Genius. Then that itchy owie won't feel so bad.

[Unknown Male Voice (possibly Russell's friend)]

I'll just feel nice and smooth as you deserve, Russell. So just keep adding layers over that thing that's itching you. Eventually you'll have done it. You'll have turned your boo boo into a pearl.

[Manika Wilhelm]

And all kinds of mollusks use this trick for all kinds of boo boos. It could be a cut a piece of shell or even another little fish. Or a worm stuck in their shell that's bugging them no matter what got stuck. Making it feel like the rest of their shell works very well.

[Molly Bloom]

The mollusks have it figured out.

[Manika Wilhelm]

I will say this is a pretty slow process. It takes months or even years to make a pearl. And in nature, pearls aren't always round. A pearl will be shaped like whatever thingy bothered the mollusk.

[Katherine]

So you'd get ovals and weird lumps or even worm shaped pearls.

[Manika Wilhelm]

Yes. And because a mollusk making a pearl is kind of making a mini version of its shell, a pearl will always be the same color as the inside of its shell.

[Molly Bloom]

Wow. So the mollusks in those beautiful swirly trumpet shells where you can hear the ocean called conches, they have pink inside their shells. So they'd make pink pearls.

[Katherine]

Yep.

[Manika Wilhelm]

And a clam with purplish insides will make a purple pearl. There are also blackish pearls and even orange pearls. But not all of them are shiny in the special way that the pearliest pearls are.

[Katherine]

When those pearls shine, they almost look like more than one color at once.

[Molly Bloom]

They can look purple and pink and white at different angles. That's called iridescence.

[Katherine]

Iridescence.

[Manika Wilhelm]

That shininess comes from special ingredients in shell gel. Mollusks with iridescent crystals in their shell gel will have the same special shininess as their pearls. And we have a name for the special iridescent material that makes shiny pearls. It's called nacre.

[Katherine]

Nacre.

[Molly Bloom]

Do mollusks make pearls a lot?

[Manika Wilhelm]

They don't. To find a pearl in the ocean, you'd have to open thousands of oysters. So when you see a pearl necklace, its pearls were probably made on a pearl farm where they bother oysters and mussels with beads to create Perfectly round pearls.

[Molly Bloom]

Wow. So, to oysters. Pearls aren't bling, they're band aids.

[Katherine]

Shiny round band aids.

[Manika Wilhelm]

Yep. Side note, I would love to know what a mollusk would consider bling.

[Molly Bloom]

A crown of kelp? A starfish brooch? Maybe you'll find out more on your mollusking journey.

[Katherine]

Thanks for filling us in, Manika.

[Manika Wilhelm]

Of course. Come with me on my next mollusking trip, you guys. It'll be super fun.

[Molly Bloom]

We've got more pearls of wisdom about pearls coming up. But first, let's check the mailbag.

[Unknown Female Voice (mailbag reader)]

Wow. Look at me, Bob. I'm here checking the mail bag. So fun. I love mail. The wonderful zip codes. Oh, like this one. 53205. Obviously, that's Milwaukee. Oh, and here, 73109. Well, that's Oklahoma City. And don't get me started on the taste of envelope glue. So delicious. How come they don't make envelope glue flavored ice cream? Anyway, I think I'm going to open this piece of mail right here. Let's see what it is.

[Katherine]

Hi, I'm Aria from Atlanta, Georgia. And this is a joke. How does a scientist freshen their breath? With experiments.

[Russell]

Bye,

[Katherine]

experiment.

[Unknown Female Voice (mailbag reader)]

That's so good. Thanks, Aria. I love a science joke. You can send us a joke too, @brainson.org contact. You know what else freshens your breath? Envelope glue. Fresh breath. And you smell like mail. Double win. Bye.

[Molly Bloom]

You could get this show and all our other shows like Smash Moon, Best Forever Ago and moment of without ad breaks. Just join [e-mail].

[Russell]

thanks,

[Unknown Female Voice (mailbag reader)]

Brains.

[Molly Bloom]

I'm Molly, here with Kathryn, and we're talking oysters and pearls. And next up, we're going game show mode.

[Katherine]

Oh, cool.

[Molly Bloom]

It's time for a game called Mollusk Bling or made up Thing. It's a quiz show about marvelous bling from the sea, like pearls and mollusks from the sea like oysters and made up things that I made up. Each round, I'll read you the name of something. It's either a mollusk, some marvelous bling from the ocean, or it's made up. Your job is to decide which one. Are you ready to play?

[Katherine]

Yes.

[Molly Bloom]

Okay, here we go. Our first item is the ocean diamond. Is this a mollusk, a bit of ocean bling, or something I made up?

[Katherine]

I'm going to guess that it's a mollusk.

[Molly Bloom]

It is something I made up. But there is such a thing as a Pacific razor clam with a Z. And honestly, it should be called the racing clam. It looks like a hot dog bun that's flat and brown. And it digs its way into the sand to avoid getting eaten. It can go super fast. It has a body part called a digger foot that looks kind of like a finger. It cracks its shell, sticks that digger foot out and scoops sand out of the way to burrow down. They can get a few feet below the beach in just a few minutes. Pretty cool, huh?

[Katherine]

Yeah.

[Molly Bloom]

Next one is shipworm. Is it mollusk bling from the ocean or something I made up?

[Katherine]

Hmm. I don't know if a worm is a mollusk, so I'm going to guess, is it a blink from the ocean?

[Molly Bloom]

It is actually a mollusk.

[Katherine]

It is.

[Molly Bloom]

So, yeah, it's called a shipworm because it looks like a big worm, but it is actually a mollusk. It grows to be about as long as a piece of paper with a tiny shell that it almost wears like a little helmet. You might call it a shellmet. And it's called a shipworm because it literally eats wooden ships. For centuries, these mollusks have been sinking vessels to eat. The shipworm scratches into wood with its shellmet and chows down bananas. Right?

[Katherine]

Yeah.

[Molly Bloom]

Okay, here's the next one. Giga pearl. Is it a mollusk bling from the sea or something I made up?

[Katherine]

Okay. I don't think it's. I do not think it's a mollusk. It's either bling from the sea or something totally made up. Eeny, meeny miny mo Catch your tiger by the toe if you wanna let it go. Eeny, meeny, miny, moe. Okay. Zep blank from the ocean.

[Molly Bloom]

You're correct. Nice work.

[Katherine]

My Eeny, meeny miny moe worked.

[Russell]

Yeah.

[Molly Bloom]

The giga pearl is the biggest pearl that's ever been found. It looks like a tooth, but it's the size of a bowling pin and it weighs 60 pounds. A giant clam made it in the ocean near the Philipp. This is our final one, and it is Disco scallop.

[Katherine]

Disco scallop. Makes me want to dance.

[Unknown Female Voice (mailbag reader)]

Yeah.

[Molly Bloom]

What do you think? Mollusk bling from the sea or something I made up?

[Katherine]

I don't think it's bling from the sea, so. Eeny, meeny mine. I will catch a kite. I don't know if you will. Eeny, meeny miny, moe. Is it a mollusk?

[Russell]

Yes. Correct.

[Unknown Male Voice (possibly Russell's friend)]

Eeny, meeny.

[Katherine]

Eeny, meeny.

[Russell]

Yeah.

[Molly Bloom]

So this is a real one. It's also somet called the disco clam. Outside. It has a pale beige shell, but when it opens its mouth, you can see its bright red body that has red Tentacles. And get this along the front edge of its body. It lights up. It looks like it's making a little line of lightning around its shell.

[Katherine]

No way.

[Molly Bloom]

That's actually kind of incredible. And you know, like Elmo from Sesame street or animal from the Muppets. It kind of looks like if their furry red faces were underwater with no eyes or nose, but a light up un.

[Katherine]

Oh, my gosh. These are crazy.

[Russell]

I know.

[Molly Bloom]

The under the sea really has some incredible creatures.

[Katherine]

Yeah.

[Molly Bloom]

Thank you for playing mollusks bling or made up thing. Oysters sometimes make pearls and they do a bunch of other stuff too.

[Katherine]

They filter seawater and make cozy places for other animals to live.

[Molly Bloom]

Oysters are part of a big group of creatures called moll.

[Katherine]

And many of those mollusks can make pearls for mollusks.

[Molly Bloom]

Pearls are kind of like a band aid made of shell. They cover up an ouchie and mollusks

[Katherine]

make a pearl with the same gel they use to build their shells.

[Molly Bloom]

That's it for this episode of Brains On. This episode was written by Mana Coelhelm and produced by Molly Bloom, Marc Sanchez and Sana Totten. It was sound designed by Mark Sanchez and he also wrote our theme music. We had engineering help from Arande Williams and and voice acting by our pal Eric Ringham. Special thanks to Emma Z. Long, Wang Lang Tian and Rochelle Tanner and Ken Taborski at Code of the north for their website help. Katherine, are you ready for the mystery sound again?

[Katherine]

Yes.

[Molly Bloom]

Okay, now the cool thing is because I know this one, I can give you hints. Okay. So before we listen to it again, I'm going to give you the hint that it's actually has to do with a game. Here it comes.

[Katherine]

I mean, I. I hear like some, like, wood. Like, my first instinct was it's a game and it has wood. It's Jenga. But it feels. It's like loud, loud bang. So I'm like, I have no idea. There's so many things it could be.

[Molly Bloom]

Yeah. I feel like if you were playing Jenga that way you wouldn't be doing very well at Jenga. Okay, I'll give you another hint. It has to do with throwing as well. So here it is one last time.

[Katherine]

Okay, now I feel like it has something to do with the ball or something like that.

[Molly Bloom]

Yep. Something you have to throw.

[Katherine]

My first. I was like, is it a ping pong ball?

[Molly Bloom]

Ooh, I like that. I like that. Guess. Are you ready for the answer?

[Katherine]

Yes.

[Molly Bloom]

Okay, here it is.

[Noah]

Hi, my name is Noah from New South Wales, Australia. And that was the Sound of me throwing darts on a dart board. The dart board is in my room and I use it to play darts with friends and family. And I have nine darts.

[Russell]

Darts.

[Molly Bloom]

Darts on a dart board. Have you ever played darts before?

[Katherine]

Okay. Actual darts? No. Seeing people play darts? Yes. Playing, like, virtual darts? Yes.

[Molly Bloom]

Ah, okay. Well, now, you know when you play darts, it makes a very satisfying, like, thwack sound when you hit the board. So, yeah, try that. Next time you see a dartboard, give it a little try. It makes a really good sound. Now it's time for the Brains honor roll. These are the incredible kids who keep the show going with their questions, ideas, mystery sounds, drawings and high fives. Selah from Algonquin, Illinois, Josie and Maton from Columbia, Maryland. Owen from Petaluma, California. Nathan from Apex, North Carolina Ari from Durham, North Carolina. Nina and Liza from Plymouth, Minnesota Alexandra from Richardson, Texas Milo from Chapel and Liffrith, United Kingdom. Mabel from Oakland, California Diana from Montreal, Fiona from San Francisco, Annie from Jackson, Jacksonville, Florida Sophie and Carter from Heartland, Wisconsin. Blake from Kent, Washington Lydia from Brooklyn, Connecticut Sam from Adelaide, Australia. Isla from Brighton, Michigan Joel from Montclair, New Jersey Benicio from Bryan's Road, Maryland Charlotte from New York City Vera from Philadelphia, aurora from Springfield, Oregon. Abe from Alexandria, Virginia Easton from LaGrangeville, New York Sullivan from Alexandria, Virginia Spencer from Takaka, New Zealand Lila from Bangkok, JJ from Beaver, Pennsylvania Sienna and Grayson from Charleston, South Carolina. Celine from Katy, Texas Henry from San Francisco Fletcher and Heidi from Carlsbad, California. Maggie from Gresham, Oregon May from Glassboro, New Jersey Nora from Decatur, Georgia Bonnie from Casper, Wyoming Nia from Bristol, uk Mika, Rosa and Rafi from Silver Spring, Maryland Cyril and Frances from Kaukauna, Wisconsin Essie from Canton, Ohio Veronica from Eaton, Colorado Ani from Western Maryland Sophia from Madison, Wisconsin William and Charlie from Huma, Louisiana, Virginia from Havertown, Pennsylvania, Hong Yu from San Jose, California Sophia from Edinburgh, Scotland Thor from Seattle, Nova from Pittsburgh Oliver and Esme from Portland, Oregon. June from Minneapolis, Weezy from Charleston, South Carolina Enzo from Bellingham, Washington Ada from Richmond, Virginia Molly from Hollis, Maine Lily from Richmond, Virginia Omar from Cape Town, South Africa. Iona from Moreland Hills, Ohio Tali from Alameda, California lion from Los Angeles Paz from Bloomington, New Jersey Beckett from El Cerrito, California Miles and Max from Tampa, Florida and Hunter from West Newberry, Massachusetts. We'll be back next week with an episode on why our brains are so squishy.

[Katherine]

Thanks for listening.