A closer look
Pristine white sand beaches that tourists pay a fortune to visit are largely composed of the digested, pulverized excrement of the colorful parrotfish. These aquatic marvels spend their days aggressively chewing on dead coral with their beak-like teeth to extract algae, grinding the inedible calcium carbonate in their guts, and pooping out massive clouds of fine white sand. A single large parrotfish can produce hundreds of pounds of this luxurious waste every single year, meaning your romantic, sunset stroll along the shoreline is essentially a barefoot walk through a massive aquatic litter box. Resorts charge a massive premium for oceanfront villas so you can sip a brightly colored cocktail while gazing out at a beach entirely manufactured by the digestive tracts of passing marine life
