You see an ant on a countertop. You brush it off to the floor. Does it die?
Heck, no. That ant comes back to annoy you again and again.
How far could it fall and still live?
A German children's science show, called The Show with The Mouse, actually did an ant-fall experiment, dropping one from higher and higher rungs of a ladder.
It proved that ants can handily survive falls from a high rise. According to the show transcript (hatip: theverge.com): "The question 'What happens to an ant that falls down a highrise?' is answered. If it really falls… it only gets as fast as it would by falling from a 2m (7ft) height. It can enjoy the flight relaxed, because when it arrives at the bottom it only has to sort its six legs and is then ready to have new adventures."
That is called terminal velocity, which for ants is 6.4 km/h for ants. For humans, terminal velocity is 200 km/h.
In effect, an ant probably can't die from a fall.
Rick Good spent ten years in the newspaper business, including with The News & Observer (Raleigh, NC) and The Greenville News (Greenville, SC). He co-wrote, with Melinda Coleman, Rutledge to Riley: Governors of South Carolina, 1776–Present (Published by The Greenville News), and is the author of Mind Games Trivia #1 (Amazon). He has recently spent 15 years creating original trivia content through Sounds Good Mobile Entertainment and continues that with his new company, SGME Software. He edits The Smart Reader’s money, real estate, and business coverage.
