hist-brewing: Critters in spring water -- Not Quite OT

[PBLoomis at aol.com]

In a message dated 11/28/1999 4:29:46 PM EST, Richard at WowMe.com writes:

<<  Two things grew.  One was a slightly cute bacteria that sort of pushed it 
self in spurts through the water.  (These were the reason I didn't dump the 
water.  I figured they were interesting enough.  >>

    Bacteria are generally too small to be seen by the naked eye.  Probably 
what 
you had were ostracodes, a very old order of crustaceans dating back half a 
billion years.  They are found in most surface waters.  They generally range 
from half a millimeter to a millimeter in length, and resembling a shrimp 
inside a clamshell.  I had to dissect some in my Micropaleontolgy class in 
graduate school.  It's done under a binocular microscope, in a mixture of 
glycerin and ethanol, using specially made dissecting needles.
    If you're going to buy spring water, as I do, make sure it says Artesian 
Spring water to avoid microcritters.
    Scotti

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