Monday, January 7

Do you know the jumping beans?

The home page of the yahoo today featured an answer on Mexico jumping beans. Since this is the first time I am coming to know about the jumping beans, I did a research and find the result amazing.

It is not the beans that are jumping but a live 'larva' of a moth that has gotten into the seed as an egg that is causing the jumping movement.

The live larva when exposed to the heat twitches and spasms, pulling on the treads on which it attached itself to the walls of the bean seed and thus causing the characteristic hop.

Even the mild warmth of our palm makes the larva move inside the seed. Even when the outside temperature is cool, one can notice the movement because of the ultra violet rays of the sun.

The jumping bean capital of the world:
The Mexican Jumping Bean comes from the mountains in the states of states of Sonora Sinaloa and Chihuahua; indeed, Álamos, Sonora, claims to be "the jumping bean capital of the world".

Here is a video clip of the jumping beans in action:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4GEGbUaQDM


Courtesy: Yahoo, Wikipedia and YouTube

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