Cleopatra bet
Marc Antony
that she could
consume the
entire wealth
of a nation
in one mea...
He accepted
her challenge
and watched
as she took
a pearl from
her pair of
earrings,
crushed and
dissolved
it into her
vinegar
drink, and
drank the
concoction...
earrings, crushed and dissolved it
into her vinegar drink, and drank
the concoction. Dumbstruck,
Antony refused his matching
dinner and conceded his defeat.
One of the most astonishing facets
of a pearl is its natural beauty;
while other gems must be cut
and polished into a presentable
jewel, pearls need no such work.
And in fact, a pearl's creation is of
itself an accident. When a foreign
object is lodged inside an oyster,
such as a shell chip or a parasite,
an oyster secretes a crystalline
substance called nacre around
the object in order to protect
itself. The longer the object rests
inside the oyster, the more nacre
will surround it. Thus, a pearl is
born.
However, garnering a "perfect"
pearl isn't as simple. Many
oysters don't live through the
pearling process; some fall
diseased, others are eaten by
sea creatures, and even a heavy
rainfall can kill oysters. About half
of oysters that encounter foreign
HYLAND
