Secrets of the Deep Blue
Like Duolingo, but for Secrets of the Deep Blue. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
For the part of you with thirty open tabs that never became anything.
A short one: 26 levels across 3 sections, about 52 minutes end to end, roughly 10 days at five minutes a day. It moves through Spotting Life in the Wild, Surviving the Extreme Ocean, and The Big Picture of Ocean Life. It starts from scratch.
Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android

Key ideas in Secrets of the Deep Blue
- Mussels use byssal threads to tether to rocks
- Soft-bodied creatures must stay submerged or in damp crevices to avoid desiccation
- Limpets and sea stars use different forms of suction and grip to resist being swept away
- The undersides of overhanging rocks provide shade and moisture even when the tide is out
- How different creatures physically anchor themselves against wave action
- Predicting where to find creatures based on their need to stay moist
- Shelled animals like snails trap a small amount of water inside their shells
- Crabs and small fish move into deep 'surge channels' or under kelp canopies to stay wet
- Identifying behaviors or traits used to prevent drying out
- Crescent tails minimize drag for long-distance travel
- Rounded tails provide a large surface area for quick starts but create drag
- Thin, flat bodies allow fish to slip into narrow crevices
- Compressed bodies are ideal for making tight turns in complex environments like reefs
- The relationship between tail shape and swimming performance
- Predicting habitat based on body profile
- Torpedo-shaped (fusiform) bodies reduce resistance in open water
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives Secrets of the Deep Blue the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
Arr! Why does a soft-bodied anemone hide in a damp crevice when the tide retreats?
Get it right to open this lesson and 25 more in the app.
Where Secrets of the Deep Blue takes you
Ever wondered why the ocean is full of glowing creatures and giant travelers? Dive in to see how life survives in the world's biggest playground and learn to spot the hidden connections beneath the waves.
- 1
Spotting Life in the Wild
- Finding Creatures in Tide Pools
- How to Tell Fish Apart
- The Busy Life of a Coral Reef
- Giant Travelers of the Open Sea
- 2
Surviving the Extreme Ocean
- How Fish Breathe Underwater
- Living in the Crushing Deep
- Animals That Glow in the Dark
- Staying Warm in Icy Waters
- The Art of Underwater Camouflage
- Finding Food When It's Pitch Black
- 3
The Big Picture of Ocean Life
- Who Eats Whom in the Sea
- How the Moon Moves the Water
- Why Salt Matters for Marine Life
3 sections · 13 units · 26 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
You pick the voice
Secrets of the Deep Blue is taught in the The Pirate style: arr, learning be an adventure!. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.
More Nature on Tomo
Secrets of the Tide Pools
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Secrets of the Atlantic Depths
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Making Friends with the Animal Kingdom
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Living Like a Capybara
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The Secret Lives of Animals
Go from an animal lover to a wildlife expert. Learn how to track creatures in the wild, decode their strange behaviors, and understand the hidden connections that keep our planet alive.
Think Like a Beaver
Discover how these furry engineers transform entire landscapes with just their teeth. Learn to spot their handiwork and understand why they are the secret heroes of our waterways.
Start Secrets of the Deep Blue today.
Download Tomo, search Secrets of the Deep Blue, and play your first lesson in under a minute.