Shells

I collected many shells along the seaside in Krabi during my vacation. I have this habit of collecting shells since small but mostly end up in dustbin after a while. This time i make sure that i don't waste these beautiful nature's gift. I bought a thin glass bowl and some plastic stones . My son is eyeing on this bowl..... Hope he don't break it like what he did to my tribe statue.....please......

Some finding on shells from Wikipedia!

 Shells come in many variety and colours. seashell, also known as a sea shell, is the common name for a hard, protective outer layer, that was created by a sea creature, a   marine organism. The shell is part of the body of a marine animal which is an exoskeleton, ( an animal without a backbone, an invertebrate) Seashells are most often found on beaches. Shells can be catogories as bivalves (or clams), gastropods (or snails), scaphopods (or tusk shells), polyplacophorans (or chitons), and cephalopods( Such as nautilus and spirula).

Shells used:

As currency

Seashells have been used as a medium of exchange in various places, including many Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean islands, also in North America, Africa and the Caribbean.

It is of historic interest that the Dutch East India Company, a major force in the colonization of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, amassed a large portion of its vast fortune via trading shell money of the species Cypraea moneta and Cypraea annulus, in exchange for commodities such as spices, exotic animals, and gemstones, all of which were considered valuable in Europe at the time.

                      As tools

Seashells have often been used as tools, because of their strength and the variety of their shapes.

Giant clams (Family Tridacnidae) have been used as bowls, and when big enough, even as bathtubs and baptismal fonts. Many different species of bivalves have been used as scrapers, blades,clasps, and other such tools, due to their shape.

Some marine gastropods have been used for oil lamps, the oil being poured in the aperture of the shell, and the siphonal canal serving as a holder for the wick.

    In horticulture

Because shells are sometimes a readily available bulk source of calcium carbonate, shells such as oyster shells are sometimes used as soil conditioners in horticulture. The shells are broken or ground into small pieces in order to have the desired effect of raising the pH and increasing the calcium content in the soil.

 In religion and spirituality

In Christianity, the scallop shell is considered to be the symbol of Saint James the Great.

In Hinduism left-handed shells of Turbinella pyrum (the sacred shankha) are considered to be sacred to the god Vishnu. 

The chank shell also plays an important role in Buddhism.

In Santeria, shells are used for divination purposes.

The Moche culture of ancient Peru worshipped animals and the sea, and often depicted shells in their art.

                       As musical instruments

Most often the shells of large sea snails are used, as trumpets, by cutting a hole in the spire of the shell, or cutting off the tip of the spire altogether.

The sacred chank, Turbinella pyrum, known in India as the shankha. In Tibet it is known as "dung-dkar".

The Triton shell also known as "Triton's trumpet" Charonia tritonis which is used as a trumpet in Melanesian and Polynesian culture and also in Korea and Japan. In Japan this kind of trumpet is known as the horagai. In Korea it is known as the nagak. In some Polynesian islands it is known as "pu".