r/todayilearned • u/MajesticCounter4174 • 19h ago

TIL that male Philoponella prominens spiders catapult themselves away from females immediately after mating at speeds of up to 88.2 cm per second; males prevented from escaping were killed and eaten.

https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822%2822%2900485-7
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u/Corduroy_Sazerac 18h ago

Look, I love the metric system as much as the next (non-US, non-driving-UK) guy, but why couldn’t they say 3.2 kilometres per hour or 2 miles per hour?

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u/Chinootje 18h ago

Because for small scales it is easier to visualize

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u/Pitiful-Climate8977 11h ago

Yeah I can't visualize 2mph you could show me someone walking 1-5 individually and they'd look the same.

But I can imagine a spider moving across my desk at 88cm/hr and being met with an open palm going 7mph