Learn about the origins of the ‘according to all known laws of aviation’ meme, the science behind bee flight, and why it endures.
Is it not ironic-how even something as technical as the laws of aviation find their place in meme culture? If you’ve spent enough time on the internet, especially in meme-heavy spaces, you’ve probably stumbled upon: “According to all known laws of aviation, there is no way a bee should be able to fly.”
Or rather, it’s a quote that has taken off like wildfire-whether in copypasta form, or as a misquoted scientific “fact.” But where did this phrase come from? Why bees? And more importantly, how did this curious combination of words become a meme?
In this article, we’re going to dive deep into the origin of the “according to all known laws of aviation” meme, the science behind bee flight, and why this quirky viral saying continues to capture imaginations. Buckle up—we’re about to take off.
Table of Contents
Understanding the Science: According to All Laws of Aviation
But before we get into the memes and quotes, let’s break down the real, actual “laws of aviation.” Aviation, after all, is pretty serious business. Planes do not merely haphazardly levitate into the sky-even though at times it really does feel like magic to watch them take off. There is a whole field of study regarding particular interests about how objects take to the skies and remain there. These are for the most part based on physics-level principles: things such as aerodynamics, lift, drag, thrust, and weight.
Basically, for flight to occur, the aircraft has to generate lift that would balance it out against its weight. It is at this point that aspects such as the shape of a wing, airspeed, and propulsion become relevant. The upper part of an airfoil-shaped wing causes air to travel faster over top, creating negative pressure and forcing the wing up. That’s the general science behind how planes conquer gravity.
Now that we have the basics, let’s apply those to the bee scenario. If you think about the laws of aviation, how airplanes work, it would seem that bees are an odd fit for flight. I mean, think about it: they have tiny little wings with chunky little bodies. By all known laws of aviation, bees shouldn’t be able to fly, right? Bien, not exactly.
Bee Law of Aviation: Unraveling the Myth of Flight
Here’s where things get interesting. The phrase “according to all known laws of aviation” stems from a long-standing myth that bees, based on their body structure, should not be able to fly. The logic goes something like this: Bees have small wings compared to their hefty bodies, and if you tried to apply airplane-style aerodynamics to a bee, it just wouldn’t work. In other words, by airplane standards, bees should be grounded.
But here’s the neat part: Bees don’t fly like Airplanes do. Well, their wings operate in an entirely different method. Rather than lift by gliding through air, as airplane wings do, a bee flaps them in a fast, almost figure-eight motion. This produces tiny whirlpools-or micro-vortices-that give lift in a way which is really unrelated to traditional aerodynamics. Their wings flap at a higher frequency than one would ever think-up to 230 times per second!
This is where the bee law of aviation starts to break down. According to those latter two sets of laws, bees shouldn’t fly. But bees just give those rules the finger. They may be small, but they’ve got a uniquely different method of staying aloft-one that’s a hell of a lot more similar to a hummingbird than to a fixed-wing aircraft.
So, while the “laws of aviation” meme might be referring to bees defying physics, this isn’t actually true. Instead, they’re simply obeying a different set of rules-ones we didn’t understand until fairly recently.
The famous “bees shouldn’t be able to fly” quote-explanation
Now, let’s get into the infamous quote: “According to all known laws of aviation, there is no way a bee should be able to fly.” Where did this come from? And why bees specifically?
The etymology of this quote is a little hazy, with most attributing it to the 1930s or 1940s.
It has been famously said that a Swiss or perhaps French entomologist once remarked in passing that, according to the known laws of aerodynamics, bees should not be able to fly. Given the intent of the remark, it was never taken seriously-it was more of a thought experiment, if even a jocular observation. That is to say, it was a scientific “huh, that’s curious!
The concluding line is more of a “moment rather than a hard-and-fast conclusion.
Over time, that observation got oversimplified and out of context until it finally morphed into the viral quote we know today. Sprinkle in a dash of internet culture, and voilà: a meme was born.
According to All Known Laws of Aviation Copypasta: The Meme That Took Flight
Ah, copypasta. If you’re not quite sure what that refers to, you might want to think of it as a chunk of text copied and then basically spammed everywhere on the Internet, typically for comedic, ironic, or otherwise satirical use The “according to all known laws of aviation” quote is an excellent example of such copypasta that went on to achieve legendary status.
Often, this copypasta starts off with the quote concerning bees and aviation, and is usually followed by some sort of humorous or nonsensical rant. It typically goes like this:
“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.”
It has become an iconic copypasta, to a great degree due to its absurdity, partly because of its association with The Bee Movie-an animated movie from 2007 with a certain cult following of its own, about which more will be said later on. The text usually appears in comment threads, forum posts, and meme threads to add surreal humor to a conversation.
What’s great about the “according to all known laws of aviation” copypasta is how it marries a pseudo-scientific statement of fact with a carefree, rebellious attitude: the bee flies anyway, against the odds, because it simply doesn’t care. It’s an underdog story wrapped in a meme, and isn’t that something we can all relate to on some level?
Bee Movie Quotes: Memorable Lines That Buzz with Humor
Speaking of The Bee Movie, it’s impossible to speak of bees and aviation and not realize the role this movie has played in the popularization of the meme. The Bee Movie hit theaters in 2007, featuring Jerry Seinfeld voicing Barry B. Benson, a bee who questions the meaning of his life, and takes up arms against the human race for taking advantage of bees as a conduit for honey. Yeah, it’s just as batshit crazy as it sounds.
What is fascinating, however, is how The Bee Movie has served over the years as an unlikely source of meme material. One of the most famous lines in the film goes:
According to all known laws of aviation, there is no way a bee should be able to fly.
Sound familiar?
The movie’s offbeat humor, mixed with the absurdity of its premise, made it a goldmine for meme artists. Quotes from the film, such as that about bees and aviation, are extremely common to see out of context for comedic effect. The film has even spawned its own copypasta, in which the entire script of The Bee Movie is posted in comment sections or forums as a joke. It’s a weird phenomenon, but hey, that’s just the internet.
Debunking the “Bees Shouldn’t Be Able to Fly” Quote Myth
So, just to get this out there: bees can fly. Nothing magical or challenging is going on here with physics. Then again, the myth that “according to the laws of aviation, bees shouldn’t be able to fly” comes from a misunderstanding of how bee flight works.
As discussed, this misconception probably arose because people had tried to apply airplane-style aerodynamics to bees. Bees do not really fly like planes. They use rapid movements of the wings and vortexes to stay aloft, and once scientists began to study their flight patterns in some detail, the mystery quickly unraveled.
It’s a great example of how science is done, really. Lots of things that are initially considered impossible often have quite simple explanations once the mechanics behind it are a bit better understood. Only when high-speed photography and computational fluid dynamics became available did the full complexity of just how bees fly become truly appreciated.
Why the Meme of “According to All Known Laws of Aviation” Endures
So why does this meme-this seemingly random, pseudo-scientific statement-continue to buzz around the internet? I think it’s because it taps into something universal. We love stories about defying the odds. The idea that a tiny bee can soar through the sky, despite what the laws of aviation say, is an uplifting metaphor-really.-for overcoming obstacles and proving the doubters wrong.
Plus, it’s hilarious. The juxtaposition of this serious-sounding scientific language with the absurdity of the bee’s nonchalant attitude toward physics creates a perfect storm for meme culture: it’s weird and quirky, just the right amount nonsensical to capture the internet’s imagination.
FAQs
Q1. Which of the following film quotes has the phrase “according to all known laws of aviation”?
The phrase originates from a myth about flight mechanics concerning bees. It is often mistakenly attributed to early 20th-century aerodynamics research, when scientists at first had difficulty in explaining how bees fly using the then-known principles of fixed-wing flight. The observation was originally made humorously but has since been exaggerated and popularized as a meme-especially through The Bee Movie and internet copypasta.
Q 2: Isn’t it true that according to the aviation laws of science, it’s impossible for bees to fly?
No, this is not true. Bees are perfectly capable of flying and adhering to the laws of physics, but just their manner of doing so is rather different from that of airplanes. Whereas planes with a fixed wing rely on lifted air, bees undertake a motion quite fast, and tiny vortices created in this way lift them. The early misconceptions were because scientists used to apply the principles related to fixed-wing aircraft to bees, too, which caused the mess.
Q3: The “according to all known laws of aviation” meme gained popularity in what ways?
This meme exploded in popularity largely with the release of The Bee Movie, in which the phrase is spoken in the opening words; quirkiness mixed with the utter ridiculousness of the statement made it, from its release, prime fodder for internet humor. In due time, it would become a highly recognizable copypasta, used for a number of comic and surreal uses across the internet.
Q 4: What is the scientific explanation for flight in bees?
Bees fly through a complicated process-which includes a special motion of wings, creating lift by fast figure-eight flapping. The arising vortices/small whirlwinds take care of helping the bee stay aloft, their wings having to beat as fast as 230 times per second to provide enough lift given that their wings are rather small in relation to the body size of bees. As such, this is quite unlike the flight of airplanes or birds and for this reason somewhat puzzling for early scientists, who were later explained the mechanics of the flight by more modern studies.
Conclusion
In the end, the phrase “according to all known laws of aviation” is a perfect example of how unexpected and delightful the collisions of science, humor, and the internet may get. From the misunderstood mechanics of bee flight to the viral copypasta that refuses to die, this meme has taken on a life of its own. And much like the bee, it’s flying high-despite what the laws of aviation might say.
So, next time you see a bee flying around, give it a nod of respect. Not because it is defying the laws of aviation, but because it is following its own unique set of rules. After all, who doesn’t love an underdog?
