Celebrating Snails - 10 Fun Facts

Today is National Escargot Day in the UK, but rather than sauté Snails, I thought I'd give you some facts about them that you might not know.

1. Snail slime is fine to eat.

Via animals.about.com

The popular myth has it that snail slime makes food inedible. Just give it a good wash and you'll be fine. In fact, research has shown that some snail slime can be used to treat stomach ulcers. Oh, and some make-up is made using the slime, so there's a chance you've been wiping it on your face anyway.

2. Snail slime is also an amazing sucker.

Via environmentalgraffiti.com

Not only is snail slime easily fooled, but it also allows the snail to create a huge amount of suction, giving it the ability to travel upside down.

3. Snails win the race to be the 'slowest'.

Via telegraph.co.uk

Even the lazy sloth and the lumbering tortoise have nothing on the snail's complete lack of speed. Some snails clock in at 0.0004 miles an hour. That means these snails would take over 7,000 years to circumnavigate the globe.

4. A global delicacy.

Via practicalfishkeeping.co.uk

It's not just the French that chow down on snails. Escargot is a culinary treat in Spain, Morocco, Nigeria, Cambodia, Indonesia, Greece, Nepal, Algeria, Cameroon, Sicily, Portugal, Philippines, Belgium, Vietnam, Laos, Cyprus, Malta, Ghana and in parts of the USA and China.

5. They're not insects.

Via therustyhodgepodge.blogspot.co.uk

Snails are molluscs and part of the gastropod family that also includes slugs, whelks and conches.

6. The police should be using Sniffer-Snails.

Via blogs.ucl.ac.uk

Snails are almost blind, and they don't have any aural systems meaning that they can't hear anything. But their sense of smell is extraordinary and they can smell food from many metres away (hey, when you're that small, that's pretty impressive).

7. Foot for thought.

Via teara.govt.nz

Every snail has a single foot. Although it may not have toes or an ankle tattoo, it does a have a muscle that works like a foot that pushes it along the ground.

8. They never really move out.

Via upi.com

Because of their speed and the amount of effort it takes for them to move, some snails never venture more than a couple of metres from the spot where they were born. Some snails live for up to 15 years in the same neighbourhood.

9. The cupid of the garden.

Via notonthehighstreet.com

Here's how some snails reproduce. They do six hours of dancing and heavy petting, and then they stab each other in the head with their love darts. How's that for romance?

10. A toothy smile

Via ashbreure.nl

You may not get a good view of its grin, but a garden snail has over 14,000 teeth, all of which are housed in its tongue.