Maybe what shellers, the intensly dedicated ones, should do is have a
supplementary collection of tree seeds. We could look 'em over once in a
while to determine if any had turned into seashells.
        (My son is still convinced that if you keep paper clips long enough,
they will metamorphose into those extra coat hangers that seem to
materialize in the closet----and those, in turn, metamorphose into
bicycles) I confess, I've never seen them actually do that---but I keep
looking.
        Art