OK, so maybe you never wondered about things like this. I did, though, which is how I got to be the World's Smartest Human Being.
Think about it. When the fly is heading toward the ceiling, it's flying right side up. When it lands on the ceiling, it's upside down. Obviously at some point along the line it does a flip. But when? And where? And how?
For a long time the most popular theory was that the flies did a "barrel roll" right before landing--that is, a quick flip to the side.
But it wasn't until high-speed cameras were developed that scientists could find out for sure. These cameras took so many pictures per second at least one of them was bound to show the fly doing its flip.
Surprisingly, it was found that a fly didn't do a barrel roll; instead it did a back flip like a trapeze artist. As the fly neared the ceiling, it stuck its forward legs over its head. As soon as it touched down (or touched up, I suppose we should say), it swung the rest of its body up until all six feet were firmly planted on the ceiling. (The flies STAYS planted on the ceiling, of course, because it has sticky pads on the bottoms of its feet.)
How does the fly get OFF the ceiling again? Cecil admits he does not know. He has to leave SOMETHING for future generations to figure out.
Copyright 1993 Chicago Reader
