ladbible homepage
ladbible homepage
  • iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK
    • US
    • World
    • Ireland
    • Australia
    • Science
    • Crime
    • Weather
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV
    • Film
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • Netflix
    • Disney
  • Sport
  • Technology
  • Travel
  • Lifestyle
  • Money
  • Originals
    • FFS PRODUCTIONS
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Archive
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content Here
  • SPORTbible
  • Tyla
  • GAMINGbible
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • FOODbible
  • UNILAD Tech
Sea Monkeys inventor made thousands from selling fish that never actually existed

Home> Community> Weird

Published 13:37 7 Feb 2024 GMT

Sea Monkeys inventor made thousands from selling fish that never actually existed

The man who invented Sea Monkeys made thousands from selling fish that never actually existed.

Anish Vij

Anish Vij

google discoverFollow us on Google Discover

Making thousands of pounds for doing very little work is the absolute dream and the man who invented Sea Monkeys became a master of doing just that.

For those unaware, Sea Monkeys are the little brine shrimp things that you add water to and watch grow.

We used to get them for Christmas or birthdays - back when the internet wasn't really a thing.

They have a lifespan of 'two to three months' but under the right conditions, could live for up to five years.

Advert

Now, the inventor of Sea Monkeys - Harold von Braunhut - was also known for selling a rather unique product - non-existent fish.

Yes, you read that right.

It's literally just an empty fish bowl.
Sea Monkeys

The American inventor made thousands from selling 'invisible goldfish' which he promised nobody would ever see and somehow people bought them.

Considering that people once bought pet rocks - which were exactly what they sounded like - so it shouldn't be too surprising that people went for a fish you can't see.

Von Braunhut sold people an empty fishbowl and some fish food and voila, you have an invisible goldfish that lives up to the promise that you can never see it because it doesn't actually exist.

Sadly, von Braunhut also happened to be massively racist as he supplied weapons to the Ku Klux Klan and was a regular attendee at white supremacist meetings.

Sea Monkeys were a staple of a lot of people's childhoods.
Wikimedia Commons

Once interviewed about his racism, von Braunhut said: "You know what side I'm on. I don't make any bones about it."

He certainly didn't make any bones about it, and people discovering this information have said it certainly puts 'a dark twist' on his inventions.

If, for whatever reason, you want to buy an empty fishbowl and feed your non-existent fish, then you can because the invisible goldfish is still a product.

Of course, you could throw together your own spin on the invisible fish by buying pretty much any fish tank.

You could even branch out among the plethora of aquatic creatures that could inhabit the tank.

When he wasn't supplying weapons to the KKK and attending white supremacist meetings von Braunhut was imagining there was a goldfish in a bowl.

You could think of some other kind of fish, and also how disturbing a person the inventor of the Sea Monkeys really was.

A shame, really.

Featured Image Credit: X/@brokennoseclub/Sea Monkeys

Topics: Fishing, Weird

Anish Vij
Anish Vij

Anish is a Journalist at LADbible Group and is a GG2 Young Journalist of the Year 2025. He has a Master's degree in Multimedia Journalism and a Bachelor's degree in International Business Management. Apart from that, his life revolves around the ‘Four F’s’ - family, friends, football and food. Email: [email protected]

X

@Anish_Vij

Recommended reads

US army 'going hungry' after horrifying images of food emergesentdefender/XCharity cuts ties with Sharon Osbourne as she backs Tommy Robinson rallySteve Granitz/FilmMagicTrump-endorser Caitlyn Jenner can no longer travel internationally because of Trump's passport policy(Photo by Mike Marsland/Mike Marsland/Getty Images for Sky)Bride reveals ongoing trauma after sister-in-law throws black paint over her in brutal act of revenge(Cover Images)

Advert

Choose your content:

17 hours ago
2 days ago
3 days ago
4 days ago
  • Rebecca Reingold
    17 hours ago

    Heckler who flirted with comedian mid-show given unexpected response

    The NYC comic has been praised for how 'well' she handled the interrupter

    Community
  • (Getty Stock Images)
    2 days ago

    People born in these years are officially ‘Zillennials’ and it explains a lot

    Don't feel like you fit in with either Millennials or Gen Z? That may be because you're a part of the 'Zillennial' group

    Community
  • Warner Bros
    3 days ago

    Man cut in half by forklift answers question about sex life after incident

    Loren Schauers was cut in half in a forklift accident that changed his life

    Community
  • (Getty Stock Images)
    4 days ago

    New evidence solves mystery of how Egypt's great pyramid was built

    Egypt's Great Pyramid was also built within two to three decades, says new study

    Community
  • Sea Monkeys inventor made thousands from selling fish that never actually existed
  • Man made shocking discovery when he put Sea Monkeys under a microscope
  • People terrified after realising what 'circle of bubbles' in the sea actually is
  • Extremely powerful sound that couldn't be made by animals was recorded from the deep sea