Static electricity plays an invisible role in the natural world, and it may even help insects pollinate plants. To understand this hidden force, scientists have jumped through some pretty weird experimental hoops — and “walked” butterflies through literal hoops.

Guests: Sam England, postdoctoral researcher at Berlin's National History Museum; Benji Jones, Vox's environmental correspondent

To read more about this experiment, Benji recommends this great article from Quanta Magazine, where he first encountered Sam's work.

For show transcripts, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠vox.com/unxtranscripts⁠⁠⁠⁠

For more, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠vox.com/unexplainable⁠⁠⁠⁠

And please email us! ⁠⁠unexplainable@vox.com⁠⁠

We read every email.

Support Unexplainable (and get ad-free episodes) by becoming a Vox Member today: ⁠⁠⁠⁠vox.com/members⁠

Help us plan for the future of Unexplainable by filling out a brief survey: ⁠⁠⁠⁠voxmedia.com/survey⁠⁠⁠⁠. Thank you!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Washington's Week 1 "Must-Win"