Sea urchins love hats

January 4, 2021 9:13 AM

Sea urchins wear shells like hats so aquarists made tiny hats for them to wear instead. There are 950 species of sea urchins living on seabeds, making them one of the most widespread and common echinoderms in our oceans. The sea urchins not only look stylish, but the hats also help to keep them safe. Sea urchin in a witch hat.
posted by nickyskye (17 comments total)

Kind of want to see a bunch of them in the Viking helmet option in a new "Immigrant Song" video.
posted by Halloween Jack at 9:40 AM on January 4, 2021 [10 favorites]

Ah, this cleanses the timeline.
posted by Going To Maine at 9:43 AM on January 4, 2021 [5 favorites]

⠀ ⠀ 🤠
　 🌵🌵🌵
🦔🦔🦔🦔🦔🦔
👇🏽　 🌵🌵 👇🏽
　 🦔 🦔
　 🌵 🌵
　 👢 👢

Howdy, I’m the sheriff of the sea floor. Meet my friends, Mr. Top Hat and Spiny Witch.
posted by Going To Maine at 9:54 AM on January 4, 2021 [11 favorites]

Appropriate song.
posted by y2karl at 10:55 AM on January 4, 2021 [2 favorites]

Samurai helmet and face guard. This Kawarikabuto helmet (17th to 19th century) with its golden sea urchins is unique among samurai armor (Photo by W. Guth). Source: Yale exhibit tells the real story of the samurai, The Day, 5/24/2015.
posted by cenoxo at 10:56 AM on January 4, 2021 [5 favorites]

I am sitting my cat down and making him read this article.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 11:25 AM on January 4, 2021 [12 favorites]

Silly hats for sea urchins. 🕵️
P.S. Aquariums, not oceans danjo... Though my treehugger self would earnestly urge aquarists to collect stray toy hats from the neighborhood kiddos and local preschools.
posted by spamandkimchi at 11:58 AM on January 4, 2021 [6 favorites]

Urchins look pretty suave with these little hats. I think maybe that Shoebill did it first.
posted by ovvl at 2:28 PM on January 4, 2021

I kinda love the idea of an urchin haberdashery.
posted by mightshould at 2:54 PM on January 4, 2021 [4 favorites]

Spyke! Murch!
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 3:14 PM on January 4, 2021 [1 favorite]

I kinda love the idea of an urchin haberdashery.

We Have Pincushions -- I Mean Berets.
posted by y2karl at 3:25 PM on January 4, 2021 [1 favorite]

What? No propeller beanies?
posted by jim in austin at 4:23 PM on January 4, 2021 [4 favorites]

Sea urchins know that hatten är din! Hatt-baby hatt-baby!
posted by TedW at 5:28 PM on January 4, 2021 [4 favorites]

Hats are easier to wear when you feel prickly about pants. They’re living the pants-free Zoom life.

Also their barbers may be closed like mine. They still looks sharp though.
posted by mundo at 10:37 PM on January 4, 2021 [2 favorites]

If you're wondering how a sea urchin can put a hat on its butt, here is a video (r/BeAmazed). Not fast, but these tube feet seem pretty handy.
posted by elgilito at 3:05 AM on January 5, 2021 [3 favorites]

More about Sea Urchin Tube Feet - Up Close: while they move using tube feet on their bottom side, spines can help them walk across various surfaces. In a primitive way, they can also ‘see’ with their feet on the upper part of their bodies.

Sea urchins are like tribbles for Vulcans.
posted by cenoxo at 9:26 PM on January 5, 2021 [4 favorites]

This has seriously made my month - if not year. Thank you!

I love my spiky hatted sea urchin friends.
posted by spinifex23 at 11:40 AM on January 6, 2021 [1 favorite]