The Brachinus crepitans, or bombardier beetle, measures just 2 cm but wields a powerful chemical defense. When threatened, it mixes hydroquinone and hydrogen peroxide inside its abdomen, triggering an exothermic reaction that reaches 100 °C. It ejects bursts of corrosive benzoquinones at 500 pulses per second, burning and repelling predators. This precise, repeatable mechanism has inspired research into reigniting gas turbines in aircraft under extreme conditions as low as –50 °C. Its internal valve and chamber system is now studied in chemical engineering and advanced biomimicry.

    • Mothra@mander.xyz
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      8
      ·
      2 days ago

      After knowing about the meme I looked up the movie and I’m sure I watched at least part of it when I was a kid, on air tv. I remembered the bug designs, which were the reason it caught my interest, I remember the action scenes with the bugs were fun, but I also remembered the plot and acting was a bit lacking.

      I didn’t remember the “I’m from Bs. As.” line, I’m sure I would have found that absolutely hilarious even back then. Maybe I forgot or maybe I got too distracted during the several commercial breaks and missed some bits, can’t say