Trap size3 hundredths m
5.9 tenthsAA battery lengths
2.73Shirt buttons
Each trap lobe about 3 cm
Photo on Unsplash
Venus Flytrap
A carnivorous plant that snaps shut faster than you can blink/Plants
The Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) is native only to a small region around Wilmington, North Carolina. Its trap snaps shut in about 100 milliseconds, three times faster than a human blink. The trigger hairs inside must be touched twice within 20 seconds to prevent false alarms from raindrops. It then seals and digests the prey over 5-12 days.
Measurements
Trap closing time1 tenths s
1.2 millionthsMayfly lifespans
476 millionthsTaylor Swift songs
20Housefly wingbeats
About 100 milliseconds
Whole plant mass1 hundredths kg
1.7 trillionthsGreat Pyramids of Giza
4.9 billionthsSpace Shuttle launches
31.3 sextillionCaffeine molecule weights
About 10 g
Plant diameter1.2 tenths m
1.2Chicken wing lengths
4.8 hundredthsSunflower heights
Rosette spread ~12 cm
Digestion time864,000 s
2.7 hundredthsEarth years
28.8 billionLightning discharges
About 5-12 days per prey item
Trigger hair threshold20 s
1.1 hundredths"Be right back"s
231 millionthsMayfly lifespans
Must touch twice within 20 s to trigger
Trap closure force1.5 tenths N
3 thousandthsShopping cart pushes
1.5 millionthsAnchor chains
Enough to hold a struggling insect
Trigger hair length2 thousandths m
6.7 thousandthsBread loaves
1.4 thousandthsDanny DeVitos
6.67Grains of salt
About 2 mm each