Move over, monkeys. It gets better than flingin'.

June 29, 2005 1:10 AM

Ballistic Defecation is just what it sounds like. Or is it?
posted by weston (15 comments total)

SFW? I'm not going to chance it!

On further contemplation - it this even safe for *anyone*? It sounds... well, icky!
posted by Chunder at 1:25 AM on June 29, 2005

Relax. It's just a caterpillar.
posted by loquacious at 1:30 AM on June 29, 2005

Yeah, but if it's a BIG caterpillar, then we might have some problems.

Actually, after a hearty Mexican meal, I have been known to...well...never mind.
posted by davidmsc at 1:33 AM on June 29, 2005

oh, just go blow it out your ass.
posted by Igor XA at 1:54 AM on June 29, 2005

Leaf/ Stick insects (phasmids) also do this.
posted by dhruva at 1:56 AM on June 29, 2005

Some caterpillars weigh in at a whopping three feet.
I like that sentence.
posted by hal9k at 4:15 AM on June 29, 2005

I thought this might be about pilobolus, a fungus that lives in cow shit and has a very powerful mechanism for shooting its shit appearing spores a long distance.

The spores fly away at 35 feet per second (10.8 m per second), at a height of six feet (2 m), and land as far away as 8 feet (2.5 m). Pilobolus, without knowing it, can shoot over a cow.

[pictures included]
posted by MonkeySaltedNuts at 6:43 AM on June 29, 2005

I am so glad that human beings cannot do this.
posted by Decani at 6:55 AM on June 29, 2005

"I am so glad that human beings cannot do this."


Were I totally tasteless and awful, I would now proceed to post a link to tubgirl. However, I am not, so I will not. (Be warned, if you seek this image out on your own, it is VERY NSFW and you better have a fork ready to gouge out your eyes afterward).
posted by Yellowbeard at 7:13 AM on June 29, 2005

I am so glad that human beings cannot do this.

Some can, but it isn't a pleasant sight. I refrain from a link.
posted by kika at 7:19 AM on June 29, 2005

Some caterpillars weigh in at a whopping three feet.
I like that sentence.
posted by hal9k at 7:15 AM EST

That's funny because I had the opposite reaction. I stumbled over it a couple of times: Weigh...feet? Oops. Go back. Weigh...feet? Oops. Go back. That sentence irritated me and colored my views about the whole article.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 8:03 AM on June 29, 2005

Pilobolus, without knowing it, can shoot over a cow.
How do we know it doesn't know?
posted by Wolfdog at 8:38 AM on June 29, 2005

*phew* I was quite worried for a moment that this would be something totally hideous; conceptually, I suppose it is... :-)

Wonder if I can get a government grant for a science research project... force feeding the "silver-spotted skipper caterpillar" different foodstuffs, such as curry, kebab, chili con carne, eggs...
posted by Chunder at 8:46 AM on June 29, 2005

This reminds me of the (rather bad) movie Starship Troopers, with the giant bugs, and their projectile attacks.
posted by bashos_frog at 8:48 AM on June 29, 2005

I am so glad that human beings cannot do this
When humans do it, it's called spreading freedom.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 9:05 AM on June 29, 2005