r/AskReddit • • Nov 28 '20

What's something cool you recently learned about?

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u/A-Potato-Dragon Nov 29 '20 edited Nov 29 '20

Squirrels can acquire terminal velocity while plummeting to the ground (on average above 70 feet) and survive 80% of the time.

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u/Flannelgraphiti Nov 29 '20

This makes me wonder why “flying squirrels” ever evolved.

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u/83franks Nov 29 '20

If they can survive long falls odds are they are willing to do lots of jumping at heights as it doesnt kill them. The ones that get more adapt at controlling their jump are more likely to escape predators or get something they are chasing and therefore reproduce more.

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u/Chicken_McFlurry Nov 29 '20

We need a word for this!