Richard Hammond – ridiculous hair, proportioned like a jockey and backs Morrisons in the great supermarket wars. Despite these failings, I found myself entranced by his latest narratory assignment, Invisible Worlds (catch the first episode on iPlayer). Admittedly he’s no Richard Attenborough and irritatingly overuses the phrase “now with the help of new high speed cameras”. Also it was Sunday afternoon and the beer goggles meant I was still easily impressed, but the simple premise of pointing cutting edge, slow-motion cameras at previously unexplainable, high-speed occurrences unveiled some incredible phenomena. Examples….

Cavitation - the formation of partial vapour vacuums within a flowing liquid as a result of mechanical force, as with a boat propeller or a pump impeller. The collapse of these vacuum pockets releases bursts of 4,000 degree heat, causing pitting damage to metal surfaces. The effect was best illustrated by a mantis shrimp repelling an inquisitive crab with superhot bubbles generated by a pincer strike. According to Science Daily, “the peak speeds of the striking appendage were 14 to 23 meters per second, with peak accelerations ranging from 6,300 to 8,000 times that of gravity”. Capturable now with the help of new high speed cameras.

Lightning Sprites – large-scale electrical discharges that occur high above a thunderstorm cloud, triggered by the discharges of positive lightning between the thundercloud and the ground. The phenomena resembles a giant airborne jellyfish, reddish-orange or greenish-blue in colour with hanging tendrils. Capturable now with the help of new high speed cameras.

If one of these bad boys stung you, no amount of peeing is going to help