Video sensation in Internet: Clam “licking” salt on a table

July 12, 2012
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An ordinary clam doing what appears to be an extraordinarily unlikely event has become a celebrity, as thousands of people have seen the video where the mollusk is “licking” a little bit of salt.

The clam seems out of his shell with a large fleshy tongue that collects salt in a kitchen table.

However, Miriam Goldstein, a graduate student in oceanography at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, explained that “the clam does not eat salt.”

“That is not the the clam tongue, it’s its foot,” said Miriam to everyone’s surprise.

Most clams use their ‘feet’ to move and dig, as most live buried under sand or mud.

“The clam on the table is probably trying to find a place to dig,” said Miriam.

In addition, clams do not eat salt; eat the tiny plants and animals that float in water.

And Miriam believes “it is possible that the salt at the table is hurting the clam, so removed after touching it with his foot.”