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Why do hermit crabs live

in borrowed shells?

Hermit crabs are crustaceans, a class of creatures with their borrowed shell. When this happens, they have to search
segmented bodies and exoskeletons that includes lobsters, for a new one. Hermit crabs can be very picky about the
shrimp, and crabs. Hermit crabs can live either on land or in shell they choose. They want a shell that they can fit into
water. They’re not true crabs, though. In fact, they’re more completely in case they need to hide for protection.
like squat lobsters than true crabs. True crabs have abdomens Sometimes hermit crabs that live together help each other
protected by hard shells. Hermit crabs have soft, exposed find new shells. When a new, large shell becomes available,
abdomens. This leaves them vulnerable to predators. hermit crabs have been known to form a line by it from
To protect themselves, hermit crabs search for abandoned largest to smallest. The largest crab moves into the new shell.
shells— usually sea snail shells. When they find one that The next largest crab moves into the shell just vacated by
fits, they tuck themselves inside it for protection and carry it the last crab and so on.
with them wherever they go. Hermit crabs sometimes like to “decorate” their shells.
This habit of living in a borrowed shell gave rise to the To help camouflage themselves and add an extra layer of
hermit crab’s name. Since hermit crabs often retreat protection, hermit crabs sometimes carry sea anemones on
completely into their borrowed shells for protection, some their shells. Sea anemones are poisonous, so other creatures
people think they act like hermits. will usually avoid them and leave the hermit crabs alone.
They tend to be quite social animals that enjoy living in Most hermit crabs are fairly small. However, one land-
groups. In the wild, they can often be found in large groups dwelling hermit crab can get quite large. When it outgrows
of 100 or more. As hermit crabs grow, they often outgrow the largest shell it can find, it grows a shell of its own.

Does t he Olympic flame

ever go out?

The Olympic flame is one of the most important symbols of in truth it is relit several months before each new Olympic
the Olympic Games. It symbolizes the fire Prometheus stole Games. The Olympic torch relay begins at the site of the
from the ancient Greek god Zeus. In ancient Greece, the ancient Olympics in Olympia, Greece. During the torch
organizers of the early Olympic Games kept a flame burning relay, the Olympic flame is usually carried by runners.
throughout the course of the games. The Olympic flame However, over time, it has also been transported in some
has not always been a part of the Olympic Games, though. Fire other interesting ways. In 1948, the Olympic flame crossed
as a symbol in the form of the Olympic flame was first used in the English Channel on a boat. In 1952, it flew in an airplane
the modern era at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam.
An even more modern tradition is the Olympic torch
relay. Started in 1936 before the Summer Olympics in
Berlin, the modern torch relay carries the Olympic flame
from Greece to various sites before arriving at the site of the
current Olympic Games to light the cauldron during the
opening ceremonies.
Although some legends hold that the Olympic flame
has been kept burning ever since the first Olympic Games,

March 2018 Competition Wizard 151