“Sea-Monkeys” is the marketing name given to Artemia – a genus of the aquatic Brine Shrimp able to produce dormant eggs which hatch from their state of suspended animation when mixed with water and crystals.
These cleverly marketed “pets” were the brainchild of Harold Von Braunhut who in 1957 sold his creature-kits as ‘Instant Life’. In 1962 the name was changed to Sea-Monkeys and became popular worldwide thanks to a massive advertising drive in comic books.
X-Ray Specs
Von Braunhut was also notable for inventing and marketing X-ray Specs – glasses which were advertised in the back pages of comics, usually alongside an illustration and description ‘suggesting’ the ability to see through clothes and skin.
Typical X-Ray Specs adverts found in the back pages of comics throughout the 60s and 70s.
Spot the difference?
Artemia…
Above Image by djpmapleferryman – originally posted to Flickr as Artemia monica, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7030334
Sea-Monkeys…
US. Ghostly Tales. 1982.
US. Weird War Tales. 1977.
US. Weird War Tales. 1978.
Germany. Fix Und Foxi. 1984.
US. Weird War Tales. 1980.
The Vintage Toy Advertiser 