![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/800px-Star_sand_Iriomote.jpg\")
Photo by Geomr via Wikimedia Commons<\/p><\/div>\n
Look closely.<\/p>\n
That’s star-shaped sand, my friend.<\/p>\n
Look a little closer, and you can see its splendid starry points:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/750px-2085f_Japon_Hatoma.jpg\")
Photo by Okinawa Soba (Rob) via Flickr<\/p><\/div>\n
Okay, scientifically speaking, these little lovelies aren’t actually sand<\/em>. They are the tiny, empty shells of ocean protozoa called Baclogypsina sphaerulata<\/em>.<\/p>\n Say that<\/em> three times (or even once).<\/p>\n When the micro-creatures die, their exoskeletons are washed ashore amid grains of actual sand on only a handful of beaches on earth, and they’re all in the vicinity of Okinawa, Japan.<\/p>\n According to legend from Okinawa’s Iriomote Island, the “sand” stars are Hoshizuna<\/em>, the fallen sky children of the North Star and the Southern Cross. Long ago, the tiny stars sprinkled into the sea of Okinawa, where they were killed by a sea serpent and continue to wash ashore as miraculous star-shaped particles of “sand.”<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Just when you thought you knew\u00a0about the world \u2026 Look closely. That’s star-shaped sand, my friend. Look a little closer, and you can see its splendid starry points: Okay, scientifically speaking, these little lovelies aren’t actually sand. They are the … Continue reading