Oysters are nutritious. They are high in omega-3s and protein, rich in vitamin B-12, low in fat, and low in calories.
An oyster’s heart beats an average of 20 times per minute when cold.
One oyster can filter 50 gallons of water per day.
The expression “the world’s mine oyster” comes from Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor.
The world record for oysters shucked per minute (39) belongs to Patrick McMurray, owner of Starfish Oyster Bed & Grill, a restaurant in Toronto, Canada.
Famed 18th-century lover Casanova is said to have enjoyed 50 oysters for breakfast daily; you can draw your own conclusions.
Oysters are morphodites, a.k.a. transgender; they all start off as males but many change gender in their second or third years to reach an ideal oyster colony ratio of roughly 70:30 females-to-males.
Oyster beds make noise. Researchers have recorded an audible symphony emitted by myriad tiny creatures who seek refuge in the interstitial spaces of oyster reefs away from larger predators. The movements of snapping shrimp, mud crabs, and other critters sound a bit like popcorn popping underwater.
