Watch these kids try to eat bugs!

Jellyfish's tentacles contain thousands of venom containing stinging cells called Cnidocytes. Jellyfish use them for protection as well as for the capture of a prey. Cnidocytes are basically small compartments which house mini-needle like stingers. The stinger lies coiled under high osmotic pressure. Now, when there is a trigger due to an external force, the lid of the stinging cell pops open and sea water rushes in. This forces the mini-needle like stinger to shoot out, penetrate and finally inject venom into the victim. This discharge can occur in less than one millionth of a second. This is how a Jellyfish Stings.

Jellyfish don’t have a heart, or blood, or even a brain. They’ve survived five mass extinctions. And you can find them in every ocean, from pole to pole. What’s their secret? Keeping it simple, but with a few dangerous tricks.

Some are longer than a blue whale. Others are barely larger than a grain of sand. One species unleashes one of the most deadly venoms on earth; another holds a secret that’s behind some of the greatest breakthroughs in biology. They’ve inhabited the ocean for at least half a billion years, and they’re still flourishing. David Gruber investigates the secret powers of jellyfish.

What gives fireworks their brilliant colors? It has something to do with table salt.