This is a pretty cone.
Maen to all. I am back to my lack of sleep. I was shocked awake again this morning. My great Grandmother taught my daughter how to whistle. Unfortunately, it sound like a loud banshee screaming. I had to check the house to make sure all glass items were still intact.

hehehehehe! Well I'm leaving this one till the morning. Have a happy day, Karen

Karen, do you mean your Great Grandmother or your daughter's?
This is a photo of a Textile Cone from my collection. Each shell has a slightly different pattern to the next. But they are all pretty - and very dangerous while they are alive. They catch their prey by shooting a poisonous dart More...

that wasn't quite as hard as I thought it would be.

Good evening everyone. I hope you're enjoying your weekend.

Goodnight all, I'm going to 'hit the pit'.

Thid id s lovely shell and thanks for the description about the shell's inhabitant. It was not as hard as it looked.

What a wonderful shell, and a wonderful photo, Ian.

Ian I know you are off to bed, but your information sounds like personal experience.
How can you tell if a shell is occupied?

It is a competition between my Grandma and little girls high pitch squeals. But Girlie-girl wins, her voice is only a year old, whereas, Grandma's voice is 90 years old. (If you did not hear it, I am so happy I can say my grandma taught my daughter) :)

An interesting picture, a good explanation and a challenging puzzle. Thanks Ian! The tone and texture in this picture are great.

That is a very interesting object...never heard of one, but, if I see anything resembling it I will leave it strictly alone. Well, off to make a chocolate pie for my husband...I'm sure he will enjoy it when it gets in from playing golf.

Ian, since I know you like airplanes, look at this site. Some nice old planes there.
http://www.richard-seaman.com/Aircraft/AirShows/YankeeAirM useum2006/Highlights/index.html

original puzzle idea.

Kathy, thank you very much, they are wonderful photos of lovely old (and in some cases not so old) aircraft. I will share them with my son who also has an unfailing interest in aviation - he has attended Oshkosh twice now (I haven't been yet). I am really impressed with the quality of the photos, whoever took them knew what he (or she) was doing.

Karen, ahah, now the truth is emerging( but I didn't hear it from you).
You can tell whether the shell is occupied the usual way - just knock on the door and if someone answers then it is occupied,

(Actually, the probability of you finding a live one is fairly remote - unless you go More...

Karen, I should have given you better information than the almost humorous comment above. If you turn the shell over you will see the opening which tapers from one end to the other. The wide end is the dangerous end and the wider the opening the more dangerous is the animal. So, never pick one More...

Thanks for the puzzle, Ian

I never would have thought not to touch shells at the beach. I have always been told to watch out for jelly fish.
I am a toucher to objects, since a young child I was told not to touch and being the stubborn person I am would do it and darn it if I wasn't caught everytime. (This was when More...

It is funny that beautiful things are often dangerous. Great photo and explaination Ian.

Karen, there's a good chance that the shells you find on the beach are already dead, but do be careful just in case. As to whether they are found on your side of the world, I don't know. They are tropical creatures so there is a chance you might find them in your warmer waters. But the real answer is - Dunno.

Thanks Ian, I love getting the answers from you even if they are dunno.
I like very much doing research papers, but by the time a semester is over I am a little worn out on hunting information. It takes weeks for me to pick up a book to read for pleasure. Daddy has had the pleasure of reading More...

Karen, I have just 'Googled' Textile Cone Shell and all kinds of interesting pages have turned up. I found the Wikipedia page
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cone_snail
good enough to give you an idea of what I have been talking about. As far as I can see, the Textile Cone is confined to the Indo-Pacific region, but bear in mind that this als includes Hawaii.

Anne, you have a wonderful husband.
Thank you Ian for your endless knowledge. I love learning on just about anything. It is also bad for me because I will not sleep until my curiousity if filled. If you had not given me answers I would be googling also before I went to bed.

12/30/07