Here's a question for you.

What have the orange elephant ear, the branching tube, the brain, stinker, branching vars, chicken

liver, red boring, brown encrusted and lavender rope all got in common?

You take us? Wait, what was that you say?

The names of Harry Potter spells?

No, not quite, although that would be a pretty good guess.

They're all in fact names for a fascinating group of organisms called sponges.

They can all be found in the flower garden banks National Marine Sanctuary in the Gulf

of Mexico, along with the touch me not, variable boring sponge, log ahead and orange, lumpy

and crusting.

Yeah, I know it does sound like something from a JK rolling book, but trust me on this

one, I kid you not.

And now, these beautiful animals have caught the attention of engineers and architects as

marine sponges could inspire the next generation of bridges and skyscrapers.

Hello there, I'm Patrick I. and welcome to season 2 of 30 animals that made us smarter

and original podcasts from the BBC World Service which tells the incredible tales of how

scientists from across the globe when looking to solve human problems have been inspired

by the animal kingdom.

And they're right to do so, because after millions of years of evolution, the natural world

has had plenty of practice at problem solving.

If you've enjoyed our podcast so far, please spread the word, go on and share it with members

of your friends and family who you think might like it.

...