Size does matter, because if you can make a mouse the size of an elephant – it’ll explode.
If you don’t already know, Kurzgesagt – In A Nutshell is one of the most informative channels on YouTube, using cutesy animations and clever analogies to explain complex scientific phenomena. They upload impressive explainer videos about once a month and one of their most recent examines ‘the size of life’ — why mice are tiny and why elephants are huge.
Yes, the video does explain how you can explode a mouse.
Similarly, it examines what would happen if you shrunk an elephant to the size of a mouse but it doesn’t just do this for fun. Using the mouse and the elephant, Kurzgesagt explains how cells function, their energy consumption, mitochondria and how this relates to generating heat. Simplifying their message greatly, bodies need to get rid of excess heat, otherwise you’d burn up from the inside out and die.
Charming.
But, hey, I’ll let Kurzgesagt take it from here – the video is below:
Today I Discovered is a daily dose of facts for Lifehacker readers – the weird, wonderful and sometimes worrying. Most of the time, it’s just mind-blowing. Let us know if you discovered anything that blew your mind in the comments!
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