Goldfish Invaders

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Credit piddy77 via Flickr Creative Commons

A 2004 poll estimated that thirteen percent of American households keep goldfish. Nearly 500 million are sold each year just to feed other pets. How goldfish became America’s go-to pet is a matter of some debate.

Katrina Gulliver is a historian and freelance writer who wrote "The Great Goldfish Invasion" for The Atlantic magazine that traces the origins of this disposable aquatic pet.