Block of the Week: Sea Lantern

A more efficient way to gather sea lanterns in larger quantities is to take a tool enchanted with silk touch below the waves with you. And while you're doing some enchanting, allow me to recommend adding aqua affinity to the tool for fast mining, and taking along a helmet with respiration and a few potions of night vision for when you smash the last lantern and darkness descends.

The sea lantern's remarkable undersea glowiness was probably inspired by glowing lights that people have found at the bottom of Earth's deep oceans. There are two main sources of light in the depths - the first is the hot springs found along the ridges that run along the centre of the Earth's oceans, where new crust is formed. Here, enough of the heat of our planet's core warms plumes of seawater to 350C or more, creating light that's very dim but still bright enough for life to survive. In fact, some people believe that these undersea vents may have been the location of the first spark of life on Earth. Have you thanked the ocean for giving you life yet? AND WHY NOT???

The second is lifeforms that create light in their own bodies. The deep sea is packed with creatures glowing in the inky blackness - about 80 to 90 percent of the life in the deep sea is thought to be bioluminescent. The light has many uses - from defence, to attracting a mate, to looking really cool, to hunting for food. Here are eight beautiful examples.

Minecraft's oceanic life is just as beautiful (in its own way), but substantially more dangerous. So the next time you're hunting through the oceans looking for the bright lights of an ocean monument, make sure you're well-defended! Maybe dress up in a shark costume so that the other sea-creatures just assume you're meant to be there? No. That's a stupid idea.