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A chameleon's tongue catches a fly in 0.07 seconds—faster than you blink

Imagine a slingshot. Only a slingshot that sits in your mouth. And it shoots a sticky muscle the length of your body. That's how a chameleon's tongue works.

When a chameleon sees a fly, the magic begins. It folds a special bone hook in its mouth and stretches its tongue around it like a rubber band on a finger. Then — a shot. The tongue shoots out at a speed of 100 kilometers per hour! In 0.07 seconds, it flies a distance twice the length of the chameleon’s body.

For comparison: you blink in 0.3 seconds. The chameleon has shot, caught, and retracted its tongue — and you are just beginning to lower your eyelids.

The tip of the tongue is not just Velcro. It is covered with mucus, which is 400 times thicker than human saliva! It is as if a fly falls into hot syrup - and can no longer escape. And there is a special "suction cup" on the tip of the tongue, like on a frog's leg. Triple protection - so that no insect can escape.

Interestingly, a chameleon shoots from a cold muscle! In the cold, human muscles become slow. And the chameleon's tongue works thanks to a special spiral spring made of collagen fibers. It's like a mechanical watch - it doesn't depend on heat.

Harvard scientists are studying the chameleon tongue to create super-fast robotic grippers. Perhaps in the future, surgeons will perform operations with a "chameleon tongue.".

What do you think little lizards do? They set world records. Just when we're not looking.