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The
Sponge Industry The natural sponge is actually an animal which is found growing attached to the sea bottom in the Gulf of Mexico off Tarpon Springs ‘’The Sponge Capital of the World”. Once used by the Phoenicians and early Egyptians, the sponge was part of the original Greek Olympic games in the competition for ‘excellence in skin diving to gather sponges’. Early use of sponges included bathing and kitchen cleaning. They were also used to pad soldiers’ body armor and as drinking vessels. The natural sponge that we find in stores is actually the cleaned skeleton of the animal. In this cleaned state it is valuable for use in painting, pottery making, bathing, boat and car cleaning.
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City of Tarpon Springs |
