10 'Astounding' Science Facts That Aren't Very Astounding If You're A Pedant

4. When A Flea Jumps, It Accelerates 20 Times Faster Than A Space Shuttle

This is a classic example making two things that aren't really alike at all sound similar, so that whatever 'fact' you spit out about them sounds more amazing than it is. Have you ever noticed that all the astonishing facts about creatures that can 'lift 2000000000 times their own body-weight' are always really tiny? That's because when you're small, it's much easier to be stronger relative to your size. Strength is (vaguely) proportional to the cross-section of your muscles, whereas mass is obviously 3-dimensional. Double a flea's diameter, and it's strength goes up 4 times, but it's mass increases by 8 times. Imagine what would happen if you made it the size of the space shuttle. Oh dear, looks like jumpy's having a bit of sit-down. Also, why are we comparing fleas to space shuttles again? Space shuttles are designed to not accelerate as quickly as fleas, because they're designed to contain people. It's not that we couldn't make it accelerate faster than it does - it's that doing so would bloody the cockpit somewhat.