By Jack Linshi
If you’re afraid of getting stung by a jellyfish, just wait until you know what’s actually happening.
Going viral now is a video by the YouTube channel SmarterEveryDay that shows scientists at James Cook University in Australia using a high-speed camera to capture microscopic footage of the stinging process — in which small barbs on the jellyfishes’ tentacles called nematocysts thrust out as the victim brushes by. In other words, when you get stung by a jellyfish, you’re basically getting stabbed by hundreds of venom-filled, hypodermic needles.
Even better? It all happens within 11 milliseconds.
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Cybersecurity Experts Are Sounding the Alarm on DOGE
- Meet the 2025 Women of the Year
- The Harsh Truth About Disability Inclusion
- Why Do More Young Adults Have Cancer?
- Colman Domingo Leads With Radical Love
- How to Get Better at Doing Things Alone
- Michelle Zauner Stares Down the Darkness
Contact us at letters@time.com