What happens when you cross an electric eel and a Christmas tree? Magic, that’s what happens. The Tennessee Aquarium believes in celebrating the season in style. Being energy-conscious, they decided to use an unusual energy source to power the twinkling lights on the Christmas tree!
The hub-bub began when they posted a short video about the unique display. The eel’s name is Miguel Wattson. When he gets hungry or excited, his body produces electricity to light the tiny lights on a Christmas tree near his tank. You can watch that below.
Although the first video has a great close-up of Miguel, it doesn’t show much else. Commenters prompted a second post showing more of the tree. One commenter asked about the science behind how this works. The social media guru at Tennessee Aquarium explained.
When watching, the lights flash based on Miguel’s movements around the tank. Electric eels aren’t horribly “swimmy,” so the Christmas tree spends a lot of time not being lit. Miguel is a lovely (at least to some) specimen. He is quite large, and his fluid movements through the tank can mesmerize.
We’re not sure why the aquarium decided to exploit the free electricity produced by Miguel, but we’re glad they did. Just thinking about an electric eel lighting a Christmas tree brightens our day! If you enjoyed this illuminating story, please share it with your friends!
You can find the source of this story’s featured image here and here.
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