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The Weird Science That Lets Insects Fly in the RainThe Weird Science That Lets Insects Fly in the Rain

Episode 1 | 11m 06s

Imagine the scale of raindrops if you were the size of a small bird. Or mosquito. Flying through a drizzle should be deadly! Like flying through falling cars and boulders. And yet it’s not, because nature has given them a superpower—superhydrophobic surfaces that repel water and keep them airborne. How do these microscopic structures work? And how has modern engineering been inspired by them?

Aired: 02/20/25
Extras
If everything around us is made of atoms, why can’t we actually see them?
This video explores the bizarre mathematics that show how infinity is far stranger than a number.
How Gerardus Mercator later created a map that transformed navigation forever.
DNA solves crimes, but what happens when it sends innocent people to prison?
Why are stop lights red? The real story is more complicated than you think.
How thousands of tiny brains, obeying simple rules, solve problems no individual can understand.
Joe visits a flavor lab to uncover how our senses shape our taste.
Here is the REAL science about "alpha males."
How did the mass extinction of the dinosaurs play out, moment by moment?
Think traits like eye color or tongue-rolling are simple genetics? Think again.
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If everything around us is made of atoms, why can’t we actually see them?
This video explores the bizarre mathematics that show how infinity is far stranger than a number.
How Gerardus Mercator later created a map that transformed navigation forever.
DNA solves crimes, but what happens when it sends innocent people to prison?
Why are stop lights red? The real story is more complicated than you think.
How thousands of tiny brains, obeying simple rules, solve problems no individual can understand.
Joe visits a flavor lab to uncover how our senses shape our taste.
Here is the REAL science about "alpha males."
How did the mass extinction of the dinosaurs play out, moment by moment?
Think traits like eye color or tongue-rolling are simple genetics? Think again.