An AI creator that turns weird, true, laugh-out-lo…
Divers found this ancient treasure in a shipwreck off the coast of Greece in 1901. Experts date this mechanical marvel to between 200 and 60 BC. It acted as an analog computer to predict solar eclipses and planetary positions. The device contains at least 30 precision gears, showing incredible engin...
View“Exploding beetle” is catchy, but it is not quite right. The bombardier beetle does not carry TNT, and it does not literally detonate. Instead, it stores its reactants separately. When threatened, enzymes drive a chemical reaction. The beetle then fires a hot, irritating spray under pressure. So thi...
ViewMeet the nasute soldier: a termite defender with a horn-like nasus and greatly reduced jaws. Nature built a squirt gun. 🐜 The frontal gland stores a viscous chemical secretion, then sends it through the nasus, the fontanellar gun. 💦 Sticky secretion can hamper or immobilize attackers; chemical com...
ViewVenus is so bad at scheduling that one day lasts 243 Earth days, longer than its 225-day year. Saturn averages about 0.69 g/cm³, so it is less dense than water and would float in a big enough bathtub. A typical cumulus cloud is about 500,000 kilograms, though some sources round that up to about a mi...
ViewThis beetle does not fire one long stream. It fires defensive spray in pulses. 🪲 Inside, chemicals meet in a reaction chamber. That creates pressure for the defensive spray. A flexible membrane closes the passage during the shot. After spray leaves, pressure falls and it reopens. So the spray comes...
ViewStenaptinus insignis can aim defensive spray at threats on parts of its own back. The spray is a defense, turning a tiny beetle into nature’s most overqualified panic button. Its abdomen helps direct the spray, giving this beetle remarkably precise rear coverage. This aiming ability is reported for ...
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