The Wonderful, Usable Sponge

Porifera in virga! Porifera in virga! Venite et emete porifera in virgas!

Sponges on a stick! Sponges on a stick! Come and buy sponges on sticks!

If you were a soldier in the Roman army (the Romans spoke Latin which is used above), more than two thousand years ago, you may have needed a sponge on a stick when you were in camp or on the march. For Roman soldiers, these objects were very important. They were an early type of toilet paper!

For many centuries, humans have been using sponges for all types of things. In modern days, they have the every day use of cleaning. Their holes, also known as pores, absorb water and stains. You may have also used sponges in arts and crafts. However, the "sponges" that you used probably weren’t "real sponges." It is more common to make sponges out of chemicals in factories than it is harvest them.

A long time ago, people used "real sponges" for many different purposes. Since their are multitudes of sponges in the Mediterranean Sea, a body of water surrounded by Italy, Greece, France, Egypt, and other countries, many cultures in this area used sponges. Mediterranean sponges are the softest and most used. In Greece, sponges were used to paint and make other pieces of art. In Egypt, sponges were gathered for bathing and cleaning.

Surprisinhly, it is not the sponge itself, but sponge skeletons that are utilized as "commercial" sponges which are bought by people. Instead, divers harvest sponges that have died, and their remains are made into sponges that people use. After their collection by divers, they are brought inside baskets to nearby factories. The sponges are washed, and all tiny animals, which happen to live inside the sponge, are taken out. Next, bleaching occurs to create a white color. For visual appeal, the sponges are dyed in a color. Once they are treated, they are ready for use in bath tub and sink.