mice

Nope. That is what scientist and researchers thought was the reason geckos could walk on all types of surfaces until recently.

PAKS2K

i know how...

intermolecular forces of attraction

PAKS2K

Geckos have millions of microscopic hairs, or setae, on the bottom of their feet. Autumn's group used a special microscope to take a closer look at a single hair. "Each hair had a really bad case of split ends," Autumn says. In fact, a single hair could have hundreds of bristles.

The researchers suspected that these hairs might be the key. They used special sensors and microtweezers to analyze the setae, one at a time. Their work revealed a few surprises.

First of all, the hairs aren't sticky by themselves. "We tried for months," Autumn says. But "we couldn't get them to stick until we measured how the gecko really moves its feet and toes. The secret is mechanical."

Simply pushing the setae onto the surface and dragging them forward a tiny bit makes them stick, the researchers found. Just increasing the angle at which a hair touches a surface then allows the hair to pop off. In effect, a gecko peels off its feet just as you would peel off adhesive tape.

It's really the size and shape of the tips of gecko foot hairs that matter most. At the right angle and pressure, a single hair can lift the weight of a large ant. A whole gecko's worth of setae could lift the weight of a child.

http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/articles...19/Feature1.asp

mice

Bruce, The Gecko. Amazing ain't it. Hair's!!! Damn! somehow my mind is like a steel trap for weird stuff.

Think someone will make shoes that will stick like a Gecko's feet?

not_a_z3

Okay you know about how they stick to windows

PAKS2K

If they made shoes like that we would have to walk like them and for some reason when I was trying to picture the way they walk from what I was reading it would look really funny.

Thanks for making me look this up on the internet and learn some more pointless information. I felt like I was at work doing some research.

smccurry

Geckos are cool
Now I know so much unnecessary information about them. S2ki rocks!