A porous, absorbent material used for washing and cleaning, originally from sea creatures but now often synthetic.
From Greek 'spongia,' referring to actual sea animals - marine sponges are living creatures that filter water through their porous bodies. For thousands of years, people harvested these animals from the ocean floor for bathing and cleaning. The word kept its original meaning even as we developed synthetic alternatives. Ancient Greeks and Romans prized natural sponges so highly that sponge diving was a dangerous but lucrative profession.
Every time you use a kitchen sponge, you're using something named after a living animal - real sponges are sea creatures that have been harvested for cleaning for over 3,000 years. Ancient sponge divers risked their lives diving to ocean floors to harvest these valuable cleaning animals for wealthy Greeks and Romans.
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