yego.me
💡 Stop wasting time. Read Youtube instead of watch. Download Chrome Extension

This Worm Uses a "Silly String of Death" | National Geographic


less than 1m read
·Nov 11, 2024

[Music]

In the rainforest, one sharpshooter is in search of its next target. Meet the velvet worm, a nearly blind creature with an impressive weapon. The worm is sensitive to air currents caused by movements and uses this to hunt.

The velvet worm moves so slowly that its prey usually doesn't notice it approaching. The worm's secret weapons are two pistols that fire sticky ropes up to a foot long. It's like silly string of death; the substance then paralyzes the prey with fast-drying adhesive.

The worm also has a knife in its jaw and uses it to slice its prey open. It then injects saliva that liquefies the insides of any unlucky victim.

So, to recap: this creature that looks like a scary alien monster and can feel you through the air moves slowly like it's in a horror film. Before projectile spraying you with its sticky super soaker of death, rendering you powerless to only watch as it then stabs you with the knife it has hidden in its jaws like a prison shank that it uses to rip you apart before drinking your organs.

Yeah, that thing is terrifying. [Music]

More Articles

View All
Cellular respiration | Food and energy in organisms | Middle school biology | Khan Academy
So, let’s say I was preparing to go on a long hike. Besides packing water, dressing for the weather, and mapping my route, I’d probably also want to eat a snack before leaving to make sure I have enough energy for the hike. We, as humans, need food to nou…
Leah Culver of Breaker and Tom Sparks of YC Answer Your Questions About Security and Podcasting
All right, so how about we start with some questions from Twitter. I actually think this one might have been on Facebook, so Brady Simpson asked, “How do we deal with the ever-increasing pressure from governments trying to get into devices?” Tom, do you …
Is This What Quantum Mechanics Looks Like?
Check this out! I’m using this speaker to vibrate a petri dish containing silicon oil. Now, if I take this toothpick and make a little droplet on the surface, the droplet will stay there, hovering above the surface. The droplet is actually bouncing, and i…
Khan Academy Ed Talks with Olav Schewe - Tuesday, June 1
Hello! Welcome to Ed Talks with Khan Academy. We are excited to have you here as we talk to people who are influential in the education space. Today, we’re talking to Olive Chewie, who has a book coming out that we’re looking forward to talking to about l…
15 Routines That Grow Your Mindset
It’s easy to spot a red car in traffic if you’re looking for a red car, and that’s similar to how your perspective on life works. If you’re not looking for something specific, you won’t see it, even when it’s right under your nose. That’s why people with …
Divergence example
So I’ve got a vector field here V of XY where the first component of the output is just ( x \cdot y ) and the second component is ( y^2 - x^2 ). The picture of this vector field is here; this is what that vector field looks like. What I’d like to do is co…