The Olympian Flea

One of the myths I was semi familiar with, was the Olympian Flea.

http://www.designweek.co.uk/Pictures/web/e/c/k/Medalrevers_438.jpg

 I knew of the fleas speed and have seen them in action many times on my dog so I was fascinated by this chapter. 

The misconception lies in what people have calculated over the years. The research done suggested that if you took a flea and made it human sized, that it would jump further and higher. The research used was found on the Bugman Bug Trivia Web site. It concluded that a flea can jump 110 times its length. If you were to take the flea and make it human sized, say 5 feet, the flea would be able to jump 550 feet. That a SUPER DUPER long way. 

http://www.onthespotpestcontrol.com/images/bugs/fleas.jpg

The misconception discussed in the book is that the above calculation does not factor in the ratio of surface area (length x width) to volume (length x width x height). With a small insect, like a flea, the surface area is a big force. As the insect gets bigger, the volume gets bigger compared to its surface area. The muscles of a flea may not be as strong as our muscles, but they are having to move a relatively small volume. So if you use all the facts to look at this, a flea made to be human sized would probably be pretty equal to the human in jumping. 

Olympian Flea.... I THINK NOT!!