Does a snail really know where it goes?

Sure it does. A snail can go forage randomly and still return to a specific resting place. Snails find mates through air- or water-borne chemicals and any snail that wants to reproduce has to be able to navigate towards them (slug example). Whelks can pretty precisely track an odor plume even in turbulent waters. read more

I don't think snails "know" anything in the sense of this question. Mind you, this raises all sorts of philosophical questions about being conscious! And their eyes register movement, light and shade but almost certainly not clear shapes. read more

– The food of land snails goes through a mouth structure called the radula, which has several rows of tiny teeth inside. – Land snails do not chew their food. They scrap it. – Land snails breathe thanks to a lung. – A single garden snail (Helix aspersa) can have up to 430 hatchlings after a year. read more