# Mechanical gear discovered in a living creature. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 13, 2013, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mechanical-gear-discovered-in-a-living-creature/668767 "2013-09-13T14:04:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Indian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@Indian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indian)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2013, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mechanical-gear-discovered-in-a-living-creature/668767/1 "2013-09-13T14:04:38Z")
With two diminutive legs locked into a leap-ready position, the tiny jumper bends its body taut like an archer drawing a bow. At the top of its legs, a minuscule pair of gears engage—their strange, shark-fin teeth interlocking cleanly like a zipper. And then, faster than you can blink, think, or see with the naked eye, the entire thing is gone. In 2 milliseconds it has bulleted skyward, accelerating at nearly 400 g’s—a rate more than 20 times what a human body can withstand. At top speed the jumper breaks 8 mph—quite a feat considering its body is less than one-tenth of an inch long. > **[This Tiny Bug Has a Gear in its Leg](https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/animals/a9449/the-first-gear-discovered-in-nature-15916433/)** > > U.K. scientists find the first biological gears on a jumping insect half the size of a fire ant. Cool.🙂 ---
**Author:** ![GrizzRich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7ba0ec/32.png) [@GrizzRich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrizzRich)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2013, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mechanical-gear-discovered-in-a-living-creature/668767/2 "2013-09-13T17:54:15Z")
what the hell… I can’t resist… I, for one, WELCOME our new mechanical overlords! ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2013, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mechanical-gear-discovered-in-a-living-creature/668767/3 "2013-09-13T17:55:40Z")
The whole article is most interesting. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2013, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mechanical-gear-discovered-in-a-living-creature/668767/4 "2013-09-13T18:15:23Z")
This can only end badly ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2013, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mechanical-gear-discovered-in-a-living-creature/668767/5 "2013-09-13T18:23:30Z")
Don’t jump to conclusions. You don’t have the gears for it. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2013, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mechanical-gear-discovered-in-a-living-creature/668767/6 "2013-09-13T19:08:05Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > This can only end badly > [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > Don’t jump to conclusions. > > You don’t have the gears for it. This has to be the work of one of you two. Fess up! ---
**Author:** ![Encinitas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Encinitas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Encinitas)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2013, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mechanical-gear-discovered-in-a-living-creature/668767/7 "2013-09-13T19:08:16Z")
Resistance is futile. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2013, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mechanical-gear-discovered-in-a-living-creature/668767/8 "2013-09-13T20:44:53Z")
What does it drink, WD40? ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2013, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mechanical-gear-discovered-in-a-living-creature/668767/9 "2013-09-13T21:32:46Z")
Wait till they find the steering. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2013, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mechanical-gear-discovered-in-a-living-creature/668767/10 "2013-09-16T06:17:30Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > Wait till they find the steering. 🙂 “Ar, it’s drivin’ me nuts!”