Ferocious ants bite like a bullet
BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Ferocious ants bite like a bullet
Trap-jaw ants bite with a force of over 300 times their own bodyweight, new high-speed digital images have shown.
Their jaws spring shut at more than 100 km/h (66mph)- the fastest recorded speed at which an animal can move its body parts.
I’m not so sure about their claim that this is the fastest speed that an animal can move a body part. I’m assuming they mean fastest accelerating body part since they talk of acceleration later in the article. Otherwise the hand of a baseball pitcher throwing a 100mph fastball is exceeding that. Like usual, the media has the science at least partially wrong.
We all know how media are — is — whatever. “Jets may be vulnerable to on-board bombs” was the most recent “scientific” headline I’ve seen.
Comment by Mark Steel — August 22, 2006 @ 2:09 am
OMG, you mean the FAA hasn’t mandating hardening jets from on-board bombs!!!!
Makes me think of that viral VW ad where the terrorist detonates a bomb and the windows go black with smoke but the car doesn’t blow up.
Comment by Anton — August 22, 2006 @ 10:45 am