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What can survive a fall from any height?

Did You Know? Squirrels, in theory, can survive a fall from an object of any height due to two factors: their size and their mass.



In 2026, the physics of "terminal velocity" explains why certain small organisms, most notably ants and water bears (tardigrades), can survive a fall from any height. Because an ant is so light and has a relatively large surface area (drag), its terminal velocity—the maximum speed it reaches when falling—is only about 6.4 km/h (4 mph). This speed is not enough to generate the force required to break its tough exoskeleton upon impact. Similarly, tardigrades are so microscopic and resilient that they are practically immune to the physical trauma of a fall through air. On a slightly larger scale, squirrels are also famous for this; while they aren't "immune" to damage, their terminal velocity is low enough, and their ability to "parachute" by spreading their limbs is effective enough, that they can often survive falls from skyscrapers with minimal injury. However, the most definitive answer is an organism with a terminal velocity lower than its "lethal impact velocity," which effectively makes the height of the fall irrelevant once that maximum falling speed is reached.

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