When it comes to staying safe on the streets, the top 10 martial arts can make all the difference. Below we explore ten disciplines that combine fitness, technique, and practical self‑defense strategies, each offering unique tools to neutralize a threat.

1 Kickboxing

Kickboxing blends powerful punches, knees, and kicks into a fast‑paced, high‑impact system. It trains you to strike with speed and precision, targeting an attacker’s openings with hands, feet, elbows, and even the head. A well‑placed front kick to the chin can break a jaw or shatter teeth, while a side‑step and forehead strike can crush a nose. Practitioners also condition their shins through repeated impact, developing “combat qi” that tolerates pain and allows them to deliver forceful kicks without injury.

2 Karate

Karate emphasizes attack deflection and rapid counter‑strikes. By stepping to the side, you can intercept a punch or knife thrust, then strike the opponent’s torso, belly, or back with a second fist. A knee to the quadriceps delivers debilitating pain. Targeting the solar plexus with a straight punch or a front kick to the stomach can incapacitate an assailant by disrupting their center of gravity.

3 Aikido

Aikido focuses on using an attacker’s momentum against them. The hallmark move, kote gaeshi (forearm return), involves sidestepping a straight punch, grabbing the wrist, and twisting to off‑balance the opponent, often breaking the wrist. Joint locks and throws are central, allowing you to immobilize a threat without relying on brute force.

4 Wing Chun

Wing Chun, taught by Yip Man to Bruce Lee, relies on rapid, straight‑line punches to the chest or solar plexus. The close‑range centerline defense minimizes the distance between you and the attacker, making it ideal for shorter defenders. Combining punches with a forward kick to the belly can quickly topple an assailant.

5 Jiu‑Jitsu

Jiu‑Jitsu is a hybrid art that blends grappling, striking, eye gouging, choke holds, and joint locks. By lowering your center of gravity, you can throw an opponent, trap a weapon‑bearing arm, and strike vital points. Leg attacks, such as kneeing a standing leg, can cripple an attacker, while hip drives and shoulder grabs enable a smaller defender to lift and flip a larger aggressor.

6 Jeet Kune Do

Bruce Lee’s Jeet Kune Do champions adaptability. It blends fencing footwork, Wing Chun trapping, and Jiu‑Jitsu throws, emphasizing speed and fluidity. Practitioners strike with rapid combinations, targeting the throat up to ten times per second, while maintaining a versatile stance for offense and defense.

7 Boxing

Boxing hones the art of the punch. With years of focused training, boxers deliver fast, accurate blows that can knock an opponent unconscious with a single chin strike. The sport’s emphasis on bob‑and‑weave, defensive posture, and powerful punches makes it a lethal tool for self‑defense.

8 Brazilian Jiu‑Jitsu

Brazilian Jiu‑Jitsu combines standing throws with ground fighting, emphasizing joint manipulation and control. On the ground, practitioners secure limb locks—kneebars, armbars—and chokeholds, forcing an attacker to submit or lose consciousness, while also delivering strikes from a dominant position.

9 The Keysi Method

The Keysi Method, inspired by street‑fighting experiences, focuses on close‑quarters combat using elbows, hammer fists, and headbutts. Its signature “thinking man” stance protects the head and upper body, while the hybrid approach incorporates grappling, ground techniques, and trapping for multi‑attacker scenarios.

10 Krav Maga

Krav Maga, Israel’s national martial art, blends boxing, karate, wrestling, and Jiu‑Jitsu into a no‑holds‑barred system. It emphasizes simultaneous defense and attack, targeting vulnerable spots like eyes, throat, and groin. Disarming techniques for knives and firearms are core components, and the art can be mastered to proficiency within three to six months.

While firearms are undeniably effective, the arts listed above provide versatile, hands‑on methods for personal protection without relying on a weapon. Each discipline offers a unique blend of strikes, locks, and tactics, empowering you to defend yourself confidently in real‑world situations.

Bioluminescence (the ability of living organisms to generate light) is nothing short of mesmerizing. While fireflies lighting up a summer night are a familiar sight, the underwater world hosts a far more cunning side of glowing. In this roundup of 10 cases bioluminescence, we’ll dive into how marine life harnesses light for both protection and trickery.

10 Cases Bioluminescence: A Quick Look

In a serendipitous 2010 expedition, scientists gathering samples for a sperm‑whale feeding study off the Gulf of Mexico inadvertently captured a brand‑new pocket shark species. Measuring a modest 14 cm (about 5.5 in), this diminutive shark went unrecognized until a deeper examination in 2013 revealed its true identity.

The oversight is understandable, given that its only known cousin resides in the Pacific, far from the Gulf’s warm waters. Among the roughly 500 shark species cataloged worldwide, this newcomer boasts a truly odd talent.

Flanking each of its front fins are tiny pouches brimming with a luminous fluid. When the shark wishes, it can expel this glowing mixture, creating miniature, sparkling clouds that drift in the surrounding water.

These luminous plumes act as bait, luring light‑drawn prey—much like moths to a candle—right into the shark’s waiting jaws, making for an effortless feast.

9 The Anglerfish’s Glowing Fishing Pole

The anglerfish, encompassing around 200 species, inhabits the pitch‑black depths where sunlight never penetrates. To compensate, the female anglerfish sports a dorsal spine that juts outward like a fishing rod, crowned with a luminous lure.

This glowing orb acts as bait, drawing unsuspecting organisms toward the darkness‑loving predator. Once the prey is within striking distance, the anglerfish snaps its massive, crescent‑shaped mouth—lined with delicate, translucent teeth—closed in a flash.

Remarkably flexible, the anglerfish can engulf victims up to twice its own length, a feat made possible by its expandable body. The largest members can surpass a meter (about 3 ft) in size.

8 The Hawaiian Bobtail Squid’s Million Army Invisibility

By day, this bobtail squid burrows beneath Hawaiian sands, staying hidden from predators. When night falls, it must venture out to hunt, yet still needs to stay concealed.

Within a specialized organ in its mantle, the squid cultivates a symbiotic colony of luminous bacteria. Shortly after hatching, the juvenile secretes a unique mucus that beckons these microbes, inviting them to take up residence.The bacteria emit just enough light to perfectly match the faint moonlight filtering through the ocean, rendering the squid virtually invisible against the background glow. In return, the bacteria feast on sugars and amino acids supplied by their host.

7 The Red Searchlight Of The Black Dragonfish

Most marine bioluminescence shines blue, a hue that travels far underwater and is easily detected by many sea creatures. Red light, by contrast, is quickly absorbed and invisible to most ocean dwellers.

The black dragonfish defies this norm. It first creates a short‑wavelength (blue) glow, then passes the light through an internal fluorescent pigment that stretches it into a deep red. This red beam is then released into the abyss.

What makes this feat extraordinary is that the dragonfish can both produce and perceive red light—an ability shared by only a handful of deep‑sea species. The result is a private spotlight that illuminates prey while keeping the predator hidden, granting a decisive hunting advantage.

6 The Deadly Shine Of The Bioluminescent Octopus

Known as Stauroteuthis syrtensis, this octopus reaches a span of about 36 cm (14 in) across its webbed arms. Its most striking feature is a set of modified suction cups that emit a vivid blue‑green glow.

Living at crushing depths up to 4,000 m (13,100 ft), the octopus’s diet consists primarily of tiny, light‑sensitive planktonic crustaceans. These prey organisms are irresistibly drawn to the shimmering illumination.

By flashing sustained and pulsing lights, the octopus lures its victims close enough to ensnare them in a mucous‑laden web, securing a swift and deadly meal.

5 The Cookiecutter Shark’s ‘Broken’ Camouflage

The cookiecutter shark employs a clever version of counter‑illumination, much like the Hawaiian bobtail squid, by lining most of its underside with photophores that match the faint light from above.

However, a conspicuous “collar” around its neck lacks these light‑producing organs, creating a small, unlit patch. While the majority of its body blends seamlessly, this gap remains visible.

Rather than a flaw, the exposed neck acts as a deceptive lure. Predators mistake the visible patch for a tiny fish and strike, only to discover the shark’s massive jaws and razor‑sharp teeth.

When an unsuspecting animal bites the exposed area, the shark clamps down with a powerful suction, then spins rapidly, slicing a neat plug of flesh from its target before slipping away.

4 The Green Bombs Of The Swima Worms

Off the western coast of the United States, the genus Swima resembles a tiny rowing boat, its body lined with fan‑shaped bristles that act as paddles for navigation.

Near the head, a cluster of vivid green gills earns them the nickname “Green Bombers.” Each worm carries roughly eight of these luminous organs.

If threatened, a worm can detach one of its glowing gills, which then flashes an intense green light, creating a dazzling distraction. While the predator’s attention is diverted, the worm darts away to safety.

3 The Squid Willing To Make Sacrifices

The deep‑sea squid Octopoteuthis deletron takes the “green bomber” strategy to an extreme. When cornered by a predator, it latches onto the attacker and then severs its own arms.

The detached limbs continue to thrash and emit bioluminescent glows, serving as a bright, moving decoy that confuses the predator long enough for the squid to make a hasty escape.

Although losing limbs costs the creature valuable energy for regeneration, the trade‑off favors survival—better to regrow than to be devoured.

2 The Milky Glow Of The Hitchhiker Bacteria

In 1995, the British merchant ship SS Lima sailed through a six‑hour stretch of ocean that glowed with a milky, cloud‑like luminescence, resembling floating snow.

This eerie tableau was caused by an enormous congregation of bioluminescent bacteria, a phenomenon far larger than typical bacterial blooms seen in open water.

While producing light expends energy, the bacteria use the glow as an invitation rather than a defense. The shimmering beacon attracts fish and squid, which feed on the bacteria, thereby transporting them to new habitats and spreading the colony.

1 The Fire‑Spitting Shrimp

Acanthephyra purpurea looks like any ordinary shrimp—no photophores, no visible glow. Yet, when threatened, it can unleash a spectacular chemical defense.

The shrimp stores the light‑producing compound luciferin in a specialized sac. Upon attack, it forcefully expels the luciferin, which mixes with oxygenated seawater.

This reaction creates a brief, blue‑flamed flash that resembles a tiny fireball, startling predators and granting the shrimp a precious moment to flee.

When you hear the phrase 10 infamous criminals, you probably picture outlaws who got away with murder, but these ten individuals actually slipped past the gallows or the cell block by convincing a jury they weren’t responsible for their own actions. The insanity defense is a legal oddity—used in less than one percent of cases with a success rate hovering around a quarter—but when it works, it rewrites history. Below, we explore each headline‑grabbing case, from royal assassination attempts to Hollywood‑inspired presidential attacks.

10 Roderick Maclean

Queen Victoria, famed for surviving eight assassination attempts, faced her most eccentric challenger in Roderick Maclean. The disgruntled poet‑turned‑gunman believed the monarch despised his verses, prompting him to open fire on her at Windsor on March 2, 1882. His first bullet missed, and two schoolboys tackled him before he could fire a second shot.

Charged with high treason—a capital offense—Maclean had already been certified insane by medical examiners. The jury, after a brief deliberation, returned a verdict of “not guilty, but insane,” sparing him the hangman’s noose. He spent the remainder of his days at Broadmoor Asylum, and his case helped spur the 1883 Trial of Lunatics Act, which later altered the standard verdict to “guilty, but insane.”

9 Jeffrey Arenburg

In August 1995, Canadian television station CJOH became the target of a paranoid schizophrenic named Jeffrey Arenburg, who believed broadcasters were beaming thoughts into his mind. Armed with a .22‑caliber rifle, Arenburg entered the station and fatally shot sports anchor Brian Smith, a victim of pure circumstance.

Although charged with first‑degree murder, a jury found Arenburg “not criminally responsible” because of his mental disorder. He was committed to a psychiatric facility for a decade before his eventual release, illustrating how the insanity plea can redirect a life from prison to treatment.

8 George Roden

The Branch Davidians’ infamous 1993 siege is well‑known, yet few remember that David Koresh wrested control from his predecessor, George Roden. The son of founder Benjamin Roden, George lost the leadership battle after a 1987 shootout and later saw the property seized for unpaid taxes.

Two years after his ouster, Roden murdered his roommate, Wayman Dale Adair, convinced that Koresh had dispatched him. Declared not guilty by reason of insanity, Roden spent his final years in various mental hospitals. In 1998, he escaped Big Spring State Hospital only to be found dead on a roadside, likely from a heart attack.

7 James Hadfield

James Hadfield, a former British dragoon, suffered severe head injuries in the French wars, which later manifested as delusions of grandeur. He fancied himself the true King George, the biblical Adam, and even a “Supreme Being.” Believing his own death would save the world, he attempted to kill King George III at the Theatre Royal on May 15, 1800.

Hadfield’s shot missed, and the crowd quickly subdued him. Renowned lawyer Thomas Erskine successfully argued that Hadfield was insane, resulting in a permanent confinement at Bedlam rather than execution. This case helped cement the legal principle that mental illness could absolve a defendant of criminal responsibility.

6 Izola Curry

Before Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, a different tragedy nearly unfolded. Izola Curry, a Black woman diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, harbored delusional beliefs that civil‑rights leaders were Communist conspirators. On September 20, 1958, she approached King at a Harlem book signing and thrust a seven‑inch letter opener into his chest.

King survived after doctors discovered the blade was perched on his aorta, where a single sneeze could have proved fatal. Curry, deemed incompetent to stand trial, was committed to Matteawan State Hospital for the Criminally Insane, highlighting how mental illness intersected with the civil‑rights era.

5 Richard Dadd

Victorian artist Richard Dadd is celebrated for his intricate fairy paintings, yet few know that most of his oeuvre was produced while confined in England’s most notorious asylums—Bedlam and Broadmoor. After a grand tour that included Egypt, Dadd returned with sunstroke‑induced personality changes, eventually convincing himself he was the son of the Egyptian god Osiris.

In 1843, Dadd murdered his father during a walk, fled to France, and was apprehended after assaulting another man. Declared a “criminal lunatic,” he avoided execution and instead spent four decades creating haunting artworks behind institutional walls.

4 Laura Fair

Laura Fair’s 1870 murder trial shocked 19th‑century America, intertwining women’s rights, mental health, and even menstruation. After discovering her lover, attorney Alexander Crittenden, intended to stay with his family rather than divorce and marry her, Fair boarded a San Francisco ferry and shot him.

The defense argued temporary insanity caused by a painful menstrual cycle, but the prosecution painted her as a homewrecker, leading to a guilty verdict and a death sentence. However, suffragettes rallied to her cause, securing an appeal that overturned the first trial. The second jury found her innocent, freeing her from prison—a rare case where the insanity defense resulted in acquittal rather than institutionalization.

3 Daniel Sickles

Before his Civil‑War fame, Daniel Sickles made legal history as the first American to successfully invoke a “temporary insanity” plea after shooting his wife’s lover, Philip Barton Key II, in broad daylight near the White House. The affair between his wife Teresa and the young lawyer ignited Sickles’ fury, leading him to fire three shots on February 27, 1859.

Although Sickles confessed, his defense team argued that the shock of the betrayal drove him temporarily mad, justifying the killing to protect his wife’s honor. The jury, swayed by this narrative, returned a “not guilty” verdict, marking a landmark moment for the insanity defense in U.S. jurisprudence.

2 John Hinckley Jr.

John Hinckley Jr. captured worldwide attention on March 30, 1981, when he attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan. Obsessed with the film “Taxi Driver” and its star Jodie Foster, Hinckley emulated the movie’s anti‑hero, even stalking Foster before deciding to shoot the president.

During the trial, Hinckley’s lawyers presented a diagnosis of schizophrenia, while prosecutors argued his actions were premeditated. The jury ultimately found him “not guilty by reason of insanity,” leading to a 35‑year institutionalization that ended with his 2016 release. His case spurred the 1984 Insanity Defense Reform Act, tightening the standards for such pleas.

1 Daniel M’Naghten

Our final figure, Daniel M’Naghten, ignited a legal revolution in the mid‑19th century. A Scottish woodworker, he attempted to assassinate Prime Minister Robert Peel in 1843, mistakenly killing Peel’s private secretary Edward Drummond.

M’Naghten claimed paranoid delusions that the Tory Party persecuted him for his opposition vote. His police statement detailed a sweeping conspiracy that drove him to madness. The defense argued he suffered monomania—a singular, insane fixation—rendering him unable to discern right from wrong. Both sides’ medical experts concluded he was insane, leading to a verdict of “not guilty by reason of insanity.” This outcome birthed the M’Naghten Rule, still a cornerstone of insanity‑defense jurisprudence today.

Self-defense is big business. You could learn boxing, jiu-jitsu, krav maga and dozens of other fighting styles. You can also invest in tools that range from telescoping batons to tasers to high-powered rifles. If you want to defend yourself, the sky’s the limit. Animals, on the other hand, have far less at their disposal. Most rely on their ability to flee or hide and those that fight typically just use teeth and claws. But every so often an animal comes up with a really novel way to protect itself.

10. Exploding Ants Blow Up On Enemies

No one can tell you exactly how many ants there are in the world and for good reason – how would anyone ever know? Even estimates can be pretty wild, but some guess around 100 trillion. Fire ants have painful stings and bullet ants are legendary for the paint that their bites cause. But even among ants, you have to hand it to exploding ants when it comes to self defense. Their name makes it pretty clear these little things are on a whole new level. 

Found in the trees of Borneo, these ants react to threats in the most dramatic way imaginable. Known as Colobopsis explodens, the ants are able to rupture their own bodies by flexing them so hard they burst in a process that not only kills them but covers their attack in a sticky and toxic mixture of internal fluids. The process will either kill or disable the attacker.

9. Sea Cucumbers Shoot Their Guts at Enemies

Sometimes the best defense is a good offense. And the best offense is to be incredibly disgusting. Enter the sea cucumber and its gut regurgitation method of defense that may not be physically damaging but, if nothing else, is psychologically traumatizing to would-be attackers.

Though some species do vaguely resemble cucumbers, sea cucumbers are classified as echinoderms. They are invertebrates, which means they don’t have a spinal column like shellfish, worms, jellyfish and so on. What they do have is a digestive system and, when threatened, they can force it right out of their bodies at predators.  

A shark is able to puke its own stomach out as a way of cleaning it and then swallow it again, but that’s not how a sea cucumber works. Once those guts come out, they stay out. The animal is then able to just grow new ones. It takes a couple of weeks, but it beats being eaten. 

8. Bees Cook Wasps Or Resort to Poop

Most of us don’t need to be told how a bee defends itself. Bee stings are fairly well known and they’re the reason most of us don’t go stealing honey from hives like we’re bears in the woods. Less well known is what a bee has to do when its sting is not sufficient to take out an enemy.

Giant Asian Wasps have become an infamous species over the last decade or two thanks to the internet and its fascination with unusual life forms. These giant, terrifying insects are known to attack beehives, and just a few can destroy everything. They literally cut bees apart with their mandibles and the bee’s sting is unable to pierce the wasp’s exoskeleton. So how does a hive react when the wasps attack? They form a super hot sphere of bee power and cook their attacker to death.

The bees will swarm on the deadly wasps en masse. Though the wasp will kill many individuals, the hive may be able to survive as the group all work together to beat their wings and generate heat from the effort. They can raise the temperature of a wasp to as much as 47 degrees Celsius, which kills it. Amazingly, the bees are able to properly regulate this temperature so that it’s hot enough to kill a wasp, but not themselves, which could happen if things were just a few degrees warmer.

Some species of wasps have learned to avoid these heat balls by picking off drones outside of the hive until there are no bees left to defend it. But the bees have also adapted to this. Beekeepers have observed honey bees gathering buffalo dung. They place it around the entrance to the hive, something that they would normally never do. Dung is often dangerous thanks to pathogens, and it effectively keeps wasps away. Even when wasps do try to attack a dung-defended hive, they spend 94% less time doing so. 

7. Vultures Projectile Vomit When Threatened

Vultures are considered by many to be rather ugly birds with their bald heads and hooked beaks. They also seem rather objectionable when it comes to their habits, since they feed on carrion and can most often be seen neck deep in a rotten carcass. They also slather themselves in their own waste to keep cool. Their highly acidic urine will lower their temperature as it evaporates and also kills bacteria.  It probably comes as no surprise that their chief method of self defense is also extremely unpleasant.

When threatened, a vulture will force itself to vomit. That’s pretty awful in and of itself. But remember that they eat already rotten meat, so when it vomits it’s throwing up the most vile filth you can imagine. Not only is it going to look gross and smell gross, it’s laden with the bird’s extremely volatile digestive juices which are so potent they can burn. 

This spray of vomit is also projectile and can travel upwards of 10 feet. And while all of that makes it seem like these birds are wretched in every way, remember that they provide a valuable service by cleaning up all that carrion and we’d likely have far more disease and bacteria being spread around if it weren’t for them. 

6. Crested Rats Slather Themselves in Poison 

Humans are renowned for using ingenuity to get a job done, and there are a handful of animals that demonstrate similar talents. Monkeys use tools, coyotes and badgers hunt together, there are a lot of ways to reach a goal. When it comes to African crested rats, they go above and beyond to defend themselves from predators by engaging in chemical warfare.

The rats have been observed chewing on the poisonous bark of certain trees. Once they work up a nice mouthful of toxic spit, they wipe it on their fur, effectively giving themselves a poisonous shield. Similar behavior does exist elsewhere in nature. There are species of toxic toads that get their toxins from the insects they eat, but this is the only mammal known to engage in such behavior. 

Initially, the rats were thought to make their poison until one single rat was observed chewing the bark and wiping the toxins on itself. Researchers then captured some to house them under constant surveillance, and many of them were observed engaging in the same behavior, though exactly why the rat itself is immune is not entirely understood. It may be thanks to their four-chambered stomach full of dense bacteria, but it’s not conclusive. 

5. Spanish Ribbed Newts Force Their Ribs Out and Coat Them in Poison

The Spanish ribbed newt has bug eyes and grows to about 9 inches in length. They look a little cartoonish in real life and aren’t very intimidating, but perhaps that’s just a plot. When it comes to self defense, few creatures go as hard as the ribbed newt. When threatened, the newt is able to freeze and rotate its own ribs inside its body from 27 to 92 degrees relative to its spinal axis. The ribs push right out of the newt’s skin through fleshy warts and are then coated with a poisonous secretion.

In pop culture terms, the newt is like Wolverine if he also poisoned his claws. There is no permanent hole that allows the ribs to protrude. The newt has to pierce its own flesh each and every time it uses the defense. 

4. Blanket Octopuses Rip the Poisonous Arms of Portuguese Man O’Wars

The ocean is full of strange and terrifying creatures more than capable of defending themselves in a variety of ways. From the claws of a crab to the jaws of a shark, you don’t want to tangle with too many beasts of the deep blue sea. Some of the most formidable creatures rely on a bevy of debilitating and deadly toxins that can stop a predator, including a human, with remarkable speed and efficiency.

The blanket octopus has developed a backdoor to its down defenses. Unlike the deadly blue-ringed octopus, a blanket octopus doesn’t produce potent venom. Instead, they will steal weapons from the Portuguese man o’war. 

The man o’war, often mistaken for a jellyfish though it’s actually a siphonophore, has dangerous, stinging tentacles. They’re not usually deadly to humans, but they can cause blisters and welts and are powerful enough to kill small fish. Blanket octopuses are immune, however. They’ll rip the tentacles right off the man o’war and then wield them like toxic whips either to attack or defend themselves.

3. Hoopoe Birds Use Filth as a Defense

Many birds have a pretty decent cache of defensive skills available, chief among them the ability to just fly away. Some birds are also equipped with dangerously powerful beaks and talons as well. But what of the smaller, more delicate ones? What happens when they face danger?

The Eurasian Hoopoe grows to be maybe a foot long and weighs less than a deck of cards. These are not fearsome creatures. So to stay ahead of predators, they’ll smear their own eggs with secretions that smell rotten, and poop all over their own nests. 

Females coat themselves in the secretion, which comes from a gland below the tail. Despite the smell, it’s antimicrobial and makes her feathers more waterproof and flexible. Within six days of hatching, babies are able to fire projectile feces at predators in their own defense as well.  

2. Numerous Kinds of Larvae Make Poop Shields

Turtles, armadillos and shellfish have a good defensive advantage in life thanks to their armor. Other creatures aren’t so blessed genetically, so they have to get creative. Take the tortoise beetle, for instance, which creates a shield out of its own feces to protect it from attackers. 

Many other species of beetle do the same thing in larval form as a means of protection before they grow their own tough carapace. The strategy is oddly ingenious, as it uses a resource that the beetle never runs short of and it’s something very few predators want to get near. The tortoise beetle can even move their shield and attack would-be predators with it like a weapon. 

1. Bombardier Beetles Shoot Boiling Chemicals 

Bugs are generally disliked by most people and the fact that many bite or sting is a big part of that. But a bug that eschews such pedestrian attacks in favor of literally shooting you with scalding hot chemicals is its own special kind of terrifying.

Bombardier beetles are less than an inch long, possibly the only saving grace for these powerhouses. When threatened, a chemical reaction occurs in their abdomen. Hydrogen peroxide mixes with hydroquinone. The beetle has a little nozzle on its backside that it can aim with amazing accuracy to fire at a predator. And you don’t want to be on the receiving end of that blast.

The two chemicals together can irritate the eyes and respiratory system. Worse, the reaction creates heat, so not only is it an irritant, it comes out literally boiling hot at 100 degrees Celsius. The beetle has enough chemicals to fire this 20 times.