Moray Christmas, Zappy Holidays: Electric Eel Powers Aquarium's Xmas Lights
As the holidays inch ever closer, you may experience moments of doubt and concern. Did you remember to order the gifts on time? Will there be enough milk and cookies for that jolly old elf Saint Nick? Did you, per tradition, attach an electric eel to your Christmas tree to power its lights like some sort of festive steampunk mad scientist who's going to make them pay, make all of them pay?
If you're the Tennessee Aquarium, at least one of your bases is covered, as the institution recently installed an exhibit in which Miguel Wattson, the aquarium's prize electric eel, is used to light up a decorative Christmas tree displayed right outside his tank. It's a move that's delighting visitors and has experts the world over saying "are you sure this didn't happen in Florida? It just sounds very 'Florida.'"
Electric eels like Miguel, who was first reported on by the Associated Press, generate low-voltage electrical fields in order to try and find food, and higher voltages when they're eating or excited. Utilizing Miguel's naturally occurring current, the brain trust at the Tennessee Aquarium rigged up a holiday display which measures organic, homegrown fish monster lightning and expresses its ups and downs via connected Christmas lights, which flicker on and off with the eel's mood from moment to moment.
Should anyone be concerned with what Miguel thinks of all this, they need look no further than the eel's personal Twitter page, which features his personal thoughts and f-eel-ings. These include such deep insights as "ZWOSH!!," "BA-BOOM!," and, inexplicably in 2019, "Bazinga!" Maybe he hasn't figured out how to power a Hulu account with contemporary programming yet.
The Tennessee Aquarium, located in scenic Chattanooga, has set up the exhibit as part of their seasonal Holidays Under the Peaks program, which also features a scuba diving Santa Claus, penguins receiving presents, and more fish puns than your tiny mind can probably handle right now.