【can you eroticize your abuse after an abusive relationship?】

Scientists have can you eroticize your abuse after an abusive relationship?made a terrible, yet fascinating, discovery: fire ants can form into living towers to survive flooding.

SEE ALSO: Giant rafts of fire ants are somehow surviving South Carolina floods

The insects have shown their survivor instincts before by forming rafts made up of thousands of ants, as seen above in footage captured in Texas last month.

These bugs are determined to survive -- and it doesn't just stop at rafts. A study out Wednesday from researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology found fire ants cluster together to form towers of hundreds of thousands of ants more than 30 ants high, all to escape floods.

The study, published in Royal Society Open Science, says the ants have evolved to link their bodies to keep colonies together. Sticky pads at the bottom of their feet help build the structures that protect the bugs from rain and water.

Mashable Light Speed Want more out-of-this world tech, space and science stories? Sign up for Mashable's weekly Light Speed newsletter. By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

In their lab, the researchers filmed ants building 26 different towers to see how they built the structures without getting crushed and to see what the towers looked like. They found that it took the ants about 25 minutes to build the towers that are wider at the bottom than at the top. It appears fire ants emulate structures like the Eiffel Tower in Paris and not your typical skyscraper.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

The New York Timesput together a video about the ants' building skills, which grossed out and simultaneously impressed most of the internet.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Sleep tight. 🐜

Video credit: Facebook/Ron Wooten via Storyful.

---

Featured Video For You

---

This prosthetic is an extra thumb you never knew you needed

---

• Games
• Digital Culture
• Science
• Shopping
• Tech
• Entertainment
• Social Good
• Deals

• Comparing Team Communication Apps: What Do You Get for Free?
• Loyal dog still waits for college student to get off her former bus every day
• Virtual reality aims to transport lonely patients out of the hospital bed
• Alec Baldwin has perfect response after Trump disses his 'SNL' impersonation
• NYT Connections Sports Edition hints and answers for March 4: Tips to solve Connections #162
• Muslim comedian casually grills Eric Trump on flight to Scotland
• Mom impresses her son with impromptu car rap
• Fill out this job application form to be considered for Trump's cabinet
• Netherlands vs. Spain 2025 livestream: Watch UEFA Nations League for free
• This adorable new photo of Saint West will help you through the Kim Kardashian drought

• I documented a week of pandemic takeout trash. Here are the photos.
• Twitter tests feature that limits who can respond to tweets
• Pixel 5 to lose Google's motion sense feature, report says
• The 'Joe Rogan Experience' podcast will soon be exclusive to Spotify
• This designer uses Pantone swatches in the coolest way
• Twitter just trolled the entirety of Twitter with 1 mean tweet
• Need a book rec? Here are 9 recent ones we loved
• Instagram and Snapchat don't pay. Patreon does and it's growing like crazy.
• What's Mike Pence thinking about in this photo?
• 'Mythic Quest: Quarantine' is a lockdown gift from AppleTV+

• Nintendo Switch 2 preorder just days away, per leak
• Here's your first sweet glimpse of 'Game of Thrones' Season 7
• Why Charles Barkley ripping the Warriors for playing 'girl basketball' is so misinformed
• 7 can't
• Best robot vacuum deal: Save $140 on roborock Q7 Max Robot Vacuum
• Airbnb scams tripled in 2016, earning a consumer watchdog warning
• Spectacles Snapbot lands at Six Flags Magic Mountain, California
• Barack Obama would at least do better in digital media than Rory Gilmore
• The Beatles biopic casts all the internet's boyfriends in one movie
• War veteran 'bored to death' by retirement starts first day at new job

• Perplexity's new Deep Research tool is powered by DeepSeek R1
• Samsung cut it too close with safety margins on the Note7's design, report says
• The end of the world: How NASA and FEMA will deal with a killer asteroid
• Armed psycho decides to investigate 'Pizzagate,' is quickly arrested
• Best AirPods deal: Save $50 on AirPods Pro 2
• Inside the Oakland artist warehouse that tragically burned down
• Inside the Oakland artist warehouse that tragically burned down
• FlipSid3 Tactics tears through losers bracket to win 'Rocket League' Championship Series
• How to Watch Netflix with Friends Anywhere (and No, It's Not Illegal to Share Your Password)
• Google Allo gets Hindi language support