The Dangers of Falling

A man coming out of the bath carries with hima film of water about one fiftieth of an inch in thickness. This weighs roughly a pound. A wet fly has to lift many times its own weight. An insect going for drink is in as great danger as a man leaning out over a precipice if it once falls into the grip of the surface tension, writes Haldane. At that scale, water could be like this horrifying slime that takes a grip on you and like you can't get away from.