Geckos are famous for their incredible ability to climb smooth surfaces thanks to the microscopic hairs on its feet. The secret to their stickiness is a physics property called van der Waals forces, "molecular attractions that operate over very small distance," as explained by the journal Science. (See below.) That evolutionary adaptation is so magnificent that engineers have spent years trying to mimic it in robotics and new adhesives.
Occasionally though, that stickiness can be problematic, as evidenced by the video above showing a gecko that's become stuck on a lint roller. Kudos to the careful rescuer!
