Oysters are a type of bivalve mollusc - there are many different types of mollusc - and bivalves have bodies that are enclosed in a shell made from two hinged parts. Oysters can be found in the sea or in brackish water, the latter being water that isn't fresh but doesn't have as much salt as seawater. This is common in coastal and tidal areas, such as river estuaries and coastal marshes, where freshwater from the river mixes with seawater.
Not all oyster types are eaten. Those from which pearls are normally harvested (the majority of molluscs that have shells produce pearls, but only certain types are valuable) tend not to be consumed. Oysters have been consumed for years, back before the beginning of recorded history.
Oysters, like many molluscs, were said to be only safe to eat in months that had an "r" in the name - those that don't are the hottest months of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, and are therefore the months that they are most likely to go off, and shellfish that goes off is bad for you.
Oysters are one of the many types of seafood that must be cooked, or eaten, alive. They are prepared in a host of different ways with different sauces and dressings. Raw oysters are eaten with such as lemon juice, cocktail sauce or vinegar. Opening a live oyster to eat - "shucking" - requires a degree of skill, or the knife used can slip and cause injury.
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