This small but beautiful specimen was taken from the ocean 100 years ago, on July 2, 1918. What was the world like when it first left the ocean?
In England, it was noted in the Daily Telegraph that influenza was spreading, and people were crowding into pharmacies to buy what was thought to be medicine to combat the disease. The newspaper also raised questions about the rumor that Tsar Nicholas had been murdered. We now know that he was killed on July 17 of that year. In China, it was the year of the horse.
In Split Rock, New York, a munitions factory exploded and caught fire, killing 50 workers. The top song on the music charts in the U.S. was “Three Little Letters from Home”. Also high on the charts: “Lafayette (We Hear You Calling)” and “Liberty Forever!”, all focused on World War I.
The Palio horse race was being run in Siena, Italy. At Comiskey Park in Chicago, the Chicago White Sox defeated the Detroit Tigers 8-2. The animated movie “The Sinking of the Lusitania” was the one of the first dramatic movies to use animation.
We hope, coral, on your 100th birthday that the world is a better place than is was when you emerged from the ocean. You did not give your life in vain; scientists can now study you to see what the ocean was like 100 years ago. Perhaps by using this information, we can learn enough to stem the destruction of the seas and save ourselves and our civilization from our own shortsightedness.
Happy Birthday, little coral!! XOXOXOXO