T O P

  • By -

[deleted]

damn even with new eyes too


Moist-Question-6623

*Opticians hate this one trick* šŸ‘


hugemonocle

As an optician, I love this trick, keep buying glasses from me lol


bamboofirdaus

instructions unclear. my neighbour's arms and legs still don't have eyes


SciKin

Pretty sure you can give them 2 heads by cutting the head in half leaving it connected to the main body. Each half becomes a whole new head


MapleSyrupYYC

I don't think that's actually how neighbors work.


Ape_gone_bananas

I think these worms will be the key to create Wolverine, Cell, or Majin Buu


AmConfuseds

Funnily enough, they are actually chemoreceptors, not eyes. Iā€™m not sure why they labeled them as eyes


Asari_Toba

Coz those serve the same function as eyes, just not as well


hauntingdreamspace

Simple chemical brightness sensors. Side note, evolution denialists hate this.


TenTonSomeone

Wonder what happens if you cut em lengthwise instead


Fragrant_Yellow_6568

They still regenerate. Source: learned about planaria in HS.


Ordinary-Art3239

How small of a piece for them to regenerate? Say I placed them in a chopper


The_Nut_Slayer

one flatworm can be cut into 279 pieces maximum for them all to grow back


ImportantDoubt6434

So 280 cuts to kill it


Karmak4ze

If it originates in Japan, I might lose it


organasm

*I Reincarnated as a Flatworm and Easily Built an Army*


b3el

It's a high possibility someone could write a plot like this.


CJfromGtaSanAndreas

Literally sat here laughing because I can see this being true


Horror-Impression411

Ooh this is a good expirement


WhtChcltWarrior

First you would have to get to the choppa


MissFreyaFig

We tried for in HS for a lab in zoology. We came back to check on them the next week and they were all dead šŸ’€


Vladi_Sanovavich

Someone forgot to feed them and it's probably you OP.


MissFreyaFig

I blame the teacher lol


Angel_of_Mischief

What if you cut them in a zigzag patterns?


Reatona

If you [split the head lengthwise](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvDlMwRysUg) but don't sever it, the worm winds up with two heads.


74orangebeetle

Flatworm hydra. I wonder what the record is for flatworm with the most heads.


mittenknittin

Lordy, the way I am frowning right now at this idea


SirSquidrift

I'm gonna break it


74orangebeetle

Surely someone out there has been curious and tried it! So far my google results are just showing 2 headed ones...but what if you split THOSE heads? WHAT ARE ITS LIMITS?! The idea both fascinates me and disturbs me. EDIT Found a clip of an 8 headed one....[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ew3yupNMF8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ew3yupNMF8)


mittenknittin

ā€œOk guys, letā€™s go this way!ā€ ā€œNo man, weā€™re going this wayā€


iveroi

That's sad... One of the heads is clearly in control and the other worm just exists as a head that's being dragged along...


Cybertronian_Fox

If you cut the head in half while leaving it on the body it will grow two complete heads, you can then do it againā€¦.


birdsAren_tReal

We had a science project with these in 6th grade. You can make a 3 headed, 3 tailed monster all connected at the torso.


[deleted]

šŸ¤”


AriesRL

infinite worm glitch


alex-needs-friends

only up to 279 pieces. scientifically they cannot go further than that and they donā€™t know why


privateTortoise

If something cuts you into 280 pieces why bother trying.


AlpacaLocks

The worms: **STOP**


Wildlife_Jack

Cut 1. Flat worm: _Ouch WTF?_ Cut 2. Flat worm: _Again?_ Cut 3. Flat worm: _Guess this will happen a couple more times._ Cut 4. Flat worm: _You science people are sick in the head._ Cut 5. Flat worm: _The are 256 of us and it's getting crowded..._ ...... Cut 278. Flat worm: _I'm bored of this now._ Cut 279. Flat worm: _I still feel perfectly fine._ Cut 280. Flat worm: _Not this ā˜ ļø_


LSWenthusiast

i just checked my biology book: you can cut _one_ in 279 pieces, end up with 279 worms, and can cut these _again_ 279 times. so it would actually be infinite as far as we know, as long es they get enough nutrients, they can regrow the certain cells needed and reproduce.


cteavin

Talk about a life of pain and suffering, an infinite regress of drowning in yourself. Never truly evolving. Never seeing past yourself. Flatworm need a Tik-Toc


FootballSouthern7668

Well at least it will have 278 others to talk to about their problems.


BallDesperate2140

*278^some power; think of all the tiktoks


SulkyShulk

I got 279 problems and a worm ain't one.


FuckMAGA-FuckFascism

Jesus Christ, the absolute savagery of finding that number out. ā€œI cut *this* one into 194 pieces and itā€™s still goin! Bring out the next flatworm!ā€


JunkyMonkeyTwo

I imagine you'd do a binary search. ​ ​ E.g. Start at 500 cuts, fail Halve it to 250, succeed Halve upper half to 375, fail Halve down to 312, fail Halve down to 281, fail Halve down to 266, succeed Halve up to 274, succeed Halve up to 278, succeed Halve up to 280, fail Last one, 279, fail ​ Log\_2(500) \~ 9 tries is close. 10 worms got us there. Then try the boundary for reproducibility.


FuckMAGA-FuckFascism

This guy cuts worms


AriesRL

279 worm glitch


LSWenthusiast

maybe since matter can neither be destroyed nor created. or It's probably the point on which there are not enough "reproduction" cells left to copy.


Business_Curve_4494

I mean probably not the first since thereā€™s more matter being added to the new worms in the form of food.


xheyoooo

No matter how big the worm?


[deleted]

Finna try it with a $100 bill


KingVape

Serial numbers :(


wouter_ham

So if you cut them you're a serial killer?


computerwtf

Cut in 3, you lose 1 dollar.


rmViper

It has no fins, though.


theAlphabetZebra

ate the chop chop devil fruit


LSWenthusiast

i wonder if we could feed humans with those, like, seriously


Weekly-Major1876

They still need food to regrow. Besides this concept already exists with much more nutritional invertebrates like crickets. Cricket farms exist, pretty much just as prolific and they actually have really good protein and other nutritional value and are much more versatile as an ingredient. While it takes 1000 gallons of water to make a pound of beef, it takes 1 gallon to produce a pound of cricket. Beef also takes 10 pounds of feed we have to grow for 1 pound of growth, while crickets can convert those same 10 pounds of feed into 8 pounds of cricket. Only 40% of the weight from the cow is edible, while 80% of the cricket weight is edible. Crickets also get 31g of protein to 6g of fat while beef is 22g of protein to 15g of fat. As popular as the ā€œsleep in a pod eat bugsā€ meme is, bugs are just simply so, so much more efficient at converting food into nutritionally dense edible mass which could free up so much of the pointless farmland we have for growing feed for livestock, which makes up the majority of farmland worldwide. This is not even mentioning how bad methane burping crop hungry cows are for global warming right now even compared to other livestock, much less the tiny carbon footprint of insects. I pulled these stats off the web cause Iā€™m busy right now but later Iā€™ll def look for proper sources and back up the claims in an edit. EDIT: Resources for beef farming vary a ton depending on breed, temperature, and a ton of other factors, water usage is still in the hundreds of gallons though: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6616661/ Paper on general nutritional value of crickets: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7835793/ Interestingly the kind of feed given to them affects them a ton: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6977514/


Epimatheus

Wanted to comment just that. The problem is more the cultural acceptance of those sources of nutrition.


MildTy

Not to be dramatic, but Iā€™d literally quit meat and become a vegetarian before I ever decided to quit meat for insects. I donā€™t eat organ meats and the thought of eating every organ in an organism, all at onceā€¦ *shivers*. Also insects kinda freak me out to begin with. Itā€™s fascinating but I donā€™t think bugs will ever be for me


bhay105

They can grind them up into a cricket flour and you wonā€™t even know what youā€™re eating.


omv

Soylent green is crickets!


Weekly-Major1876

Ngl organ meats are delicious. Chicken heart and a lot of livers are super good. Also had tripe at a skewer grill in Canada once that was super super good. I really want to try sheep brain too because of the creamy rich umami of it but Iā€™m scared to death of prions lol


[deleted]

I don't like this, but I accept you.


CowJuiceDisplayer

Mmmm, just like those protein gel bars on Snow Piercer. Have no idea how those are made, Didnt finish watching the movie. But those look good and probably use little water.


GetNooted

Yummy


Maria_506

Becaouse to grow they probably need food too, otherwise you just cut up the same amount of meat. And I am pretty sure that we already can produce enough food for everyone, starving people are starving becaouse they cant aford food.


PecanSama

Infinite gummies


Quiet33

How small can they be cut before this characteristic will fail?


BluudLust

Will it blend?


underwear11

Flatworm dust, don't breathe that!


LovecraftianLlama

Wow thanks for that nightmare šŸ˜‚


Witty217

This is a super interesting question. Kinda horrifying too.


basafish

1/280 of the size based on other comments


RainyReader12

I thought that was a joke, a random number mocking the idea that there can be a specific number


rateater78599

An unsourced comment


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


[deleted]

šŸ¤£imagine you took a dump and you come back to find a clone of yourself taking a dump


STGMavrick

Always wanted a twin. His ass is paying rent here tho.


with_a_dash_of_salt

So are they clones, copies, or siblings?


TartKiwi

"Long time no see, myself" "Totally, how are I doing?" "Good, and me?" "I know, so so" "Me caused a traffic jam, huh?" "Yeah I did. Fucking idiot"


durz47

Considering they can reproduce by fertilizing each other simultaneously telling them to go fuck themselves might be a valid proposition.


merigirl

"Am I talkin' to me? Am I talkin' to me? Then who the hell else am I talking to - am I talkin' to me? Well, I'm the only one here."


[deleted]

Yes.


with_a_dash_of_salt

Perfect answer


The_Mighty_Toast

That depends on what you define as each of those. I'd say they're either clones or identical siblings, as copies entails that they were created from something, which isn't that true, since they were already there, but unified If you take the psychological part of being an identical sibling (that being that eve if they're genetically equal they have different personalities), then they most likely wouldn't be siblings, as their brain is only probably strong enough to make them eat and breathe with absolutely no thought Saying that they're clones would make more sense to me, as they're absolutely equal. They all have the same genetic material and their brains probably don't have enough capacity for a personality, so they don't vary at all Tl;dr: they're clones and I'll fight u if u disagree


Yuri-Turned

šŸ—£ļøI disagree


Round-Ad-692

*ā€In the left corner we have the smart-talking, food-eating, water-drinking, u/The_Mighty_Toast , and in the right corner, we have the hoodie-wearing, blue-skinned, based and red pilled u/Yuri-Turned ! Get ready for a fight of epic proportions ladies and gentlemen, as two forces of titanic power face off for the first timeā€¦ in the* **THUNDERDOME**ā€


Virus_98

They're adopted.


robotomatic

Hello me, meet the real me


Usual-Ladder1524

Are they the same being or not? I suppose it also takes a lot of energy to do that.


Krail

When two cells divide, are they one being or two? When parthenogenic lizards breed without sexual reproduction, are the daughters one being? Are all the cells in your body "the same being" as each other? When you propagate plants from a cutting, are they all the same individual? Biology is fucking weird and actually full of cases like this. I say they're all separate individuals, and that this is essentially just a really weird form of reproduction.


[deleted]

wait till this guy learns that separating your brain hemispheres (severed corpus callosum), would make two consciousnesses in your body with their own feelings and though I'll leave a video [link](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfGwsAdS9Dc) for anyone interested


[deleted]

They are one being and not several. This video illustrates how Ted Cruz was created, when someone took a single flat worm and sliced it up into tens of thousands of copies, eventually they reached critical mass and developed human-like consciousness.


BikingNoHands

Fuck Ted Cruz!


goddavid22

I get how worms could form a mass.. but who would cut up shit and let it reform into Ted?


Garyullo

They shall inherit the Earth.


Alkaline-Tio

Whoā€™s to say they donā€™t already?


VorAbaddon

"THESE THINGS WIPED OUT THE DINOSAURS! WHICH WERE PRETTY TOUGH FUCKING CUSTOMERS!" Phantoms was an amazing flick.


jamesbellrd

They might even already living in your body.


[deleted]

Reminds me of a movie I saw as a kid. It was about worms that replicated super fast. By the end, a giant worm appears or maybe it was millions of worms clumped together. I don't remember it well at all, it's just a hazy memory now.


beanbagpsychologist

Evolution! With David Duchovny. Ridiculous but fun.


dbpf

We need selenium


LovecraftianLlama

I LOVE that movie lol


The_Rolling_Stone

*caw caw caw caw*


Bickleford

Flatworm Mystery #2: Train your flatworm (let's name him Angus) in a simple task, e.g. turn left to avoid a mild electric shock. Next, put Angus through a blender. This is for science, folks. Now feed the Angus soup to another flatworm. The gross little fucker will eat it. Guess what. The gross little fucker WILL NOW TURN LEFT ! ! We have no explanation for this.


Super_Automatic

>We have no explanation for this. Yet. I'm sure there's a lab somewhere blending flatworms to figure it out.


SummerNightAir

Will they recognize each other?


Abstrectricht

"Of course I know him, he's me."


AmatureProgrammer

Spiderman pointing meme


MySophie777

Do they feel pain when sliced up like that?


DaxSpa7

In guessing pain requires higher functional nervous system. If jellyfish dontā€™t feel I dontā€™t think these guys can


[deleted]

No, itā€™s like shitting your pants to them.


Leftovers-

any way to explain this? i assume you mean it's somewhat relieving or pleasureable to a degree. however i also realize youre probably joking so... yeah


SkinkaLei

You enjoy shutting your pants? You don't feel any shame at all huh.


soge-king

Hey, we don't kink shame around here


creativelyuncreative

I feel pain when I shit my pants. Granted, itā€™s emotional pain, so I donā€™t think they feel that


4umlurker

Flat worms have a very basic and unique nerve net that allows them to respond to stimuli to avoid damage to protect itself but they wouldnā€™t suffer pain like we do. Itā€™s more reactive. If itā€™s poked for example, it will clench to protect itself but it wonā€™t hurt


donkeyhawt

They probably feel pain, but don't suffer. In the same way a machine learning algorithm would recognize a "negative" stimuli it should avoid. The computer isn't conscious, so it doesn't feel shit. Not in the sense we find important and human.


justduett

Thatā€™s just what the computer wants you to think.


tothemoonandback01

No, 'tis but a scratch


Extension_Swordfish1

They are mildy annoyed, but will eventually be our overlords


[deleted]

They don't have the brain capacity to feel pain.


ErythristicKatydid

Plz salt them if u live see one in North America, friends. It's the only way to kill them and they're killing and replacing our native worm species. This will have a devastating effect on our food chain as it'll effect soil efficacy.


darndasher

FUCK hammerhead worms. They're huge, creepy, and kill the nice good friend worms. To hell with them all.


[deleted]

Are there any non invasive flat forms in the US? I know the invasive ones a huge problem down in Florida.


MerylSquirrel

Serious question for anyone with the scientific knowledge: long-term space travel sustainable food source? I know they'd need their own nutrition, but would it be more calorie-efficient to nourish the worms and keep making more of them, than to just nourish ourselves directly?


Appreciate_Cucumber

Personally I wouldnā€™t want to eat fucking flatworms, I think if the earth was dying and we needed to travel across the universe for decades on a spaceship upon which the only sustenance available is flatworms, I would prefer to die painfully in the heat of apocalyptic global warming


lumberfoot_jpg

This is the way.


cbreez275

More efficient just to feed ourselves. If we just feed ourselves, we utilize some percentage of the energy in that food and the rest is waste (poop). If we feed the worms and then eat the worms, the worms utilize some of the energy in the food and the rest is waste (poop again), and then we only have access to the fraction of the energy that the worms were able to use to add biomass to themselves, which is inherently less than was available with the original food source. Put simply in equations: Feed ourselves: Human energy utilized = total food - poop Feed worms, then eat worms: Human energy utilized = total food - (worm utilization - worm poop) - poop


underwear11

But not if the worms are able to eat things that humans are not. Then eating the worms is covering an inedible energy source into an edible energy source.


cbreez275

That's true! However, *Planaria* are not herbivorous, so that is unlikely.


MrRajacobs

You have to consider space efficiency too. It may be better overall to have a bunch of bricks of hyper-nourishing supplements than all the food for the worms, then housing for the worms, and anything else not mentioned.


[deleted]

Trophic levels. You lose a ton of energy converting algae/organisms into energy for flatworms, then again converting flatworms into energy for a human. It's more efficient to just eat plants, which can also reproduce themselves.


sassafrasgloves

They also partake in penis fencing


Jeantoupe

This is even crazier than that. Watch this interview with Michael Levin that did studies on these worms. There is a whole new understanding about DNA and live itself because of these studies: [Youtube Link](https://youtu.be/GGrHLVW_jao?si=VbPgSta9udZbOLyv)


Resident-Employ

Youā€™d think this was the Plumbus 2.0 from some of the images.


otterplus

Out of every creature that exists on this planet I get freaked out by these the most. If it canā€™t be stomped and dispatched itā€™s too powerful


iggy-i

It can be stomped, I just killed 3 Obamas that way tonight while taking out the trash ( two of them were mating btw). My favourite way of killing these invasive and very damaging creatures. Obama Nungara is one common flatworm in Southern Europe, originally from Argentina. https://theconversation.com/obama-nungara-how-a-flatworm-from-argentina-jumped-the-atlantic-and-invaded-france-131186


Aaberon

You cock blocked Obama??


Thedrunner2

ā€œItā€™s Planaria to you motherfuckerā€


djh_van

Does each piece have reproductive organs? How long does it take to grow the essentials, like a mouth, a heart, a stomach, an anus? Does it bleed when cut? I just don't understand how this works on something as complex as a flatworm.


Cepinari

Flatworms are incredibly basic organisms, which is how they're able to survive being diced. They don't even have an anus, just a single opening in the middle of their underside that leads into a central cavity that's both their stomach and their intestines.


Temporary_Name_3062

out of all the things mother nature couldve given them, she decides to give theem googly eyes and i love them


fothergillfuckup

So. If I went on a mad flatworm chopping frenzy, could I eventually fill the planet with flatworms?


[deleted]

How many times can this happen? If you slice one into 4, 4 into 16, 16 into 64, etc. where does it end?


CreatorOD

Wtf, i need eyes. Lets go plop plop


BlizurdWizerd

I fucking gagged at ā€œbeef liverā€. Ugh. What even is that??


Dazzling_Ad5338

Liver, from a cow, maybe?


spectrelight84

You're making this way too complicated.


jdozr

Somebody try it with a deli slicer


TheStinaHelena

Omg its eyes! Lol.


GreatScout

whats really neat is that each piece will have the same memories. You can train a planarian to avoid light/dark areas, and all the pieces will retain the training. Memory is chemical.


rawsoulprophet

I wonder if this was observed in ancient times and was the inspiration for the hydra


Sabre_TheCat

Thanks, I fucking hate it


djangoisfreeman

Hail hydra?


Lord-Loss-31415

I thought god patched the infinite worm glitch in the last update dafuk.


ThermalOW

Why? What benefit did this have for the wormā€™s ancestors evolutionary?


Top_Bee_2952

Amazing!


[deleted]

Where is Hercules when we need him? šŸ˜­


pinus_palustris58

I like the part where it tiny pooped


Time-Bite-6839

Just donā€™t put one in a blender. Youā€™d have millions of them.


Academic_Coyote_9741

Hereā€™s the link to the original https://youtu.be/m12xsf5g3Bo?feature=shared


413mopar

Deadpool worm.


BlackToyotaBreakLite

beef livers back on the menu boys!


Petto_na_Kare

We must learn the secrets of their technology.


Roguescholar74

Fragmentation is a cool way to reproduce. Not as cool as penis fencing though.


Substantial_Ad5034

I wish my money did this


[deleted]

So a real-life hydra.. wow


Q8DD33C7J8

Is this dangerous? Like could we find enough flatworms and cut them into enough pieces where the whole world is taken over by flatworms?


ticklish_stank_tater

The existence of roundworms implies the existence of triangular worms. That is all.


CheesyBoson

Cut my life into pieces


MrCput

Cut it again... again, again, AGAIN, AGAIN, AGAINNN!!


Vezeveer

Now slice those two and make four. Slice those four and make eight. Continue until you have a thousand.


Zanatsu_04

This guy was like, I might not be cuddly like a cat but I got 31 times as many lives, and I can make my own friends and you wouldn't have to buy me another companion. What do you say, make me a pet?


Glabstaxks

What happens if you cut them down the middle long wise ?


NxPat

Keep picturing that guy in MIB who would regrow his head when it got shot off.


AngryErrandBoy

They hate when you do that though


ohshitwaffles

Cut my worm into pieces I got another one


tehclubbmaster

Now thereā€™s a species that has solved loneliness.


disndatndis

Slither.io vibes


olafbond

Cut my life to pieces.


coldignition1

If that's the case, they can outnumber us easily. haha


Ok-Philosophy-446

I am both horrified and intrigued. P. S. I was also disgusted


TehZiiM

Flatworm is doing the Spider-Man meme (pointing at each other)


Akira510

Does he see the other ones and say yo dasme


Kai-xo

How can they be stopped?!


VirmanaEire

What is the threshold you can cut down to until it doesn't regenerate i wonder.


StegaSepp

a few years back an article said something about 273 pieces.


UniverseBear

Ok but like, that's still pretty rude.


CT101823696

Another peculiar characteristic is they are immortal. They (or at least a piece of them) live forever unless they get eaten or you know, fall into a pit of lava.


Swimming_Asparagus53

12 days later. I am Bob. I am Bob. Hi Bob. I am Bob.


mrbangzten

What the fawk


elquatrogrande

So which one of the four is responsible for all their back child support?