A poetic ode to eddies and an earwig's brush with death

"The question of where eddies come from is immortalized in verse, and an earwig emerges remarkably unscathed from inside a vacuum tube, in this week's peek at Nature 's archive."

"50 years ago doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-025-03739-5 This article features text from Nature's archive. By its historical nature, the archive includes some images, articles and language that by twenty-first-century standards are offensive and harmful. Find out more."

A poetic line frames the question of where eddies originate, linking fluid-dynamics curiosity with verse. An earwig is reported to have emerged remarkably unscathed from inside a vacuum tube, highlighting an unexpected example of insect resilience in an experimental context. The material is dated fifty years earlier and includes a DOI reference. A caution notes that historical materials contain images, articles and language that by twenty-first-century standards are offensive and harmful, and guidance is available for learning more about the archival context.

Read at Nature