This quote comes from the opening monologue of the 2007 animated movie Bee Movie.
The Quote
"According to all known laws of aviation, there is no way that a
bee should be able to fly. Its wings are too small to get its fat little body off the ground. The
bee, of course, flies anyway. Because bees
don't care what humans think is impossible."
The Science & Myth
• The Origin of the Myth: The idea that bees cannot fly comes from a 1930s rumor. A
French entomologist (August Magnan) and a mathematician (André Sainte-Laguë) supposedly applied rigid fixed-wing airplane equations to an insect and calculated that it shouldn't
work.
• The Reality: Bees do not break any laws of physics. Unlike airplanes with rigid wings, a
bee flaps its wings rapidly in a figure-8 motion. This motion creates a mini-whirlwind of
air—known as a leading-edge vortex—which generates enough lift to support the
bee's weight.
According to all known laws of aviation, there is no way a
bee should be able to fly. Its wings are too small to get its fat little body off the ground. The
bee, of course, flies anyway because bees
don't care what humans think is impossible.
