What’s a Peacock Mantis Shrimp (or, “Mantis Shrimp”)?
For Halloween, my son told me he wanted to be a Peacock Mantis Shrimp. I had never heard of it before. He proceeded to describe it:
- It’s the fastest punching animal on earth
- It makes a bubble that’s as hot as the sun
- It can break aquarium glass
- It can see more colors than we can
“No way”, I said… “that’s impossible.”
After some looking up on the interwebs…turns out this thing really exists! This is really an incredible creature, and I give full credit to my son for introducing me to it.
So, I made it. And, at the school carnival, amid a sea of Batmans, Hulks and “Iron Men”, stood the coolest one of all, in my opinion, the Peacock Mantis Shrimp.
Learn more about it on National Geographic, or Wikipedia.
The Costume
This is a headpiece that rests on the child’s head and drapes along their back like a cape. Pretty fun, but we got some sail-like action when the wind blew. Something to consider for next time…
