Worms are pretty cool

We all know about worms: the way they move, the way they look, and the way they dry up on the sidewalk after it rains. However, I don’t think we have truly stopped to appreciate their beauty and their role in our natural ecosystem.

It is common knowledge that worms such as earthworms produce important nutrients such as nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus, which are all necessary for plants’ survival. Worms can produce these nutrients through the consumption of decaying organic matter. Their stomachs break down the substance into its core materials and discard the leftover nutrients. This makes them vital members of the animal kingdom; without them, entire food chains would crumble.

Another interesting quality of worms is how many similar traits they share with all of humanity. There are over twenty thousand types of worms on Earth (and a couple thousand of a specific species in space) and they all serve the purpose of consuming organic matter to continue the natural life cycle. We will all end up in the stomach of a worm, one way or another. The only thing we can do is appreciate their magnificence beforehand.