quantamagazine.orgIn the 1960s and '70s, colorful comic book advertisements from the Transcience Corporation in New York City promised to mail anyone who sent cash, check, or money order a "bowlfull of happiness" - in reality, a small paper envelope of freeze-dried eggs. Dropped into salt water, the eggs would produce brine shrimp, also known as sea monkeys. Brine shrimp are about a centimeter long and swim…