Pearls are made of Dew! (really?)

This was a bit of history that I think is fascinating... In the first century, a naturalist named Pliny came up with a theory. Now, Pliny was smart; He was a naturalist, philosopher and author in the first century. He wrote Natural History and in many ways he was considered an authority in the field of natural science. He came up with a theory, though, that pearls are made of dew! He believed that mollusks would rise to the surface to collect dew and the dew caused pearls to grow. He had many theories… clear dew produced white pearls, weather and time of day affected the growth and quality of pearls, etc. On one level it makes sense.. pearls are iridescent like morning dew. It is also kind of funny and pretty far out. What is absolutely most amazing, though,  is that this theory was widely believed until the 18th century!! So, Pearl Girls.. imagine.. those cultured pearls were once thought to be made of dew!