Searching for Snottites

To, Too, or Two?

To is a preposition. It is often used to indicate a direction or destination, as in “I’m going to lunch” or “Jen is talking to Maria.”

Too can mean “also,” as in “Zane was laughing and John was too.” Too can also mean “excessively,” as in “The fries are too salty.”

Two is a number, as in “Alia has two sisters.”

A snottite is a hanging strand of goo made by bacteria. Snottites are found in caves. Why the gross name? They have the consistency of—you guessed it—the stuff that sometimes runs out of your nose. Snottites “drip” down cave walls. They dangle from the ceilings of caves to/too/two. (They actually have to/too/two names: snottites and snoticles. But snottites is the more common term.) 

Snottites feed off a naturally occurring gas called hydrogen sulfide, which smells like rotten eggs. Snottites produce sulfuric acid, a colorless, oily liquid that can burn a hole right through your shirt—and burn your skin to/too/two. So you definitely don’t want to/too/two touch a snottite!

The inside of a cave can seem as alien to/too/two us as the surface of Mars. There is no sunlight and temperatures can be extremely cold or extremely hot. In fact, some of the most extreme environments on Earth can be found in caves.

And yet, caves are full life—which is why scientists are working to unravel their mysteries. Snottites and other life that thrives in such harsh conditions could provide clues about the life that might exist on Mars. Studying cave life may lead to/too/two the development of new medicines to/too/two.