Loofah sponges

Am I the only one who thought loofah sponges were a product of the sea? I'm working away from home and there happens to be another farmer on the crew who grows loofah gourds. Yep, loofah sponges are derived from a gourd. My wife loves those things. It's too late to grow some this year, but I'm definitely going to try it next year.

They look like over-sized cucumbers and are fairly easy to grow in most parts of the US. You just need to have a long warm season. I thought loofahs were bits of coral from the ocean originally.