Word: flea
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...nature, there is hardly a more impressive athlete than the tiny flea. The pesky wingless insects are not only able to jump distances of more than 100 times their body length, but they also make the jumps repeatedly, apparently without tiring. The Oriental rat flea, for instance, can hop steadily for three straight days 600 times an hour. Now a group of researchers, led by British Entomologist Miriam Rothschild (of the banking family), believes that it has uncovered the secret of the flea's remarkable prowess...
...comes from the large and powerful hind legs. But, the researchers report in Scientific American, the muscles there seem inadequate for the job. For one thing, even the fastest possible single muscle contraction could not move the legs rapidly enough. Moreover, muscle efficiency invariably decreases with temperature; yet the flea seems indifferent to cold. Even when the temperature drops close to freezing, its jumping ability seems largely unimpaired...
...find the flea's lous source of energy, the researchers turned to high-speed motion picture photography (3,500 frames per second) and chemical analysis. They soon determined that it was hidden in a region filed the pleural arch near the base of the flea's hind legs. In flying insects, the pleural arch is the site of the wing-hinge ligaments, the place where the wings are attached to the exoskeleton, hard outer covering. In fleas, as well as in dragonflies, locusts and certain other insects, the arch serves another purpose: as a repository for an extraordinary...
...just heard on the news that you have requested our President to resign. Now isn't that just great. Reminds me of the old story I heard when I was a child about the flea biting the elephant and then asking whether he had hurt it. Now I have the temerity to make a request. I ask that you cease publication of your liberal magazine. It would help the paper shortage and decrease trash pollution if you would...
Agile as a flea and not much larger, Ernie DiGregorio baffled the lumbering Russian basketball team last spring with his pinpoint passes and improbable jump shots. After DiGregorio led the American amateur team to one victory with eleven assists and 25 points, Soviet Coach Vladimir Kandrashin said in exasperation: "If we had him, we wouldn't lose any games...