Here at BUNGCO we were pondering some quality fake lice. Very realistic, these lice - even on close exam. But their problem: lack of wiggling. A louse does not need to wiggle a lot, but a little bit of wiggle goes a long way for plausibility. Yes it is wiggling that makes a fake bug pass muster, but microwiggler robots are spendy, especially if you anticipate them all being smashed after a single use. Is there not some way to make a fake bug wiggle on the cheap?

Introducing the Thaw Wigglers! These leggy simulacra are placed in the freezer until the inner fluid is frozen, then deployed on tables, beds, desks or wherever needed. As the frozen innards thaw at room temperature, the resulting slow shape change causes legs (and on our fake earwig, that pincher thing!) to occasionally twitch and wiggle in a convincing manner. A more rapid thaw, say, at body temperature or in some soup, causes a more rapid wiggling. The frozen innards are also an inhomogenous green in color, for when the smashing starts and the wiggling stops.
-- bungston, Mar 11 2010

I'm in favor of anything that causes people to scream and swat at themselves.

An alternate to melting could come from the by-products of biological action. Provide two compartments in the faux bug, one with a suitable nutrient and another with inactive but aggressive bacteria or yeast. A quick pinch mixes the two, initiating rapid gaseous putrefaction, with expansion of gases causing bug movement. As a bonus, a disgusting smell would be released when crushed.
-- Whistlebritches, Mar 11 2010


don't lice jump? wiggling is a poor substitute...
-- po, Mar 11 2010


Or perhaps insert a larvae into each fake bug to provide the wriggling, much like a mexican jumping bean.
-- MikeD, Mar 11 2010


I see where this is going ... why not just use real lice?
-- mouseposture, Mar 12 2010



random, halfbakery