Ants may be tiny, but they’re some of nature's strongest creatures. Known for their incredible strength, certain species can carry objects 10 to 50 times their body weight. Leafcutter ants, for example, are often spotted hauling leaves much larger than themselves. But the science gets even wilder - a 2014 study published in the Journal of Biomechanics revealed that the neck joint of an American field ant can endure pressures up to 5,000 times the ant’s weight. That’s like a human lifting a car with their jaw!

The secret to this super strength? Their small size, lightweight bodies, and strong exoskeletons. Unlike humans, whose muscles are busy supporting body weight, ants can use all their muscle power for lifting.

This raises an interesting (and hilarious) question: how many ants would it take to lift a human?

Design thinker Sam Mathew crunched the numbers: assuming an average human weight of 70 kg, and that one ant (weighing 5 mg) can lift 0.1 grams, you’d need about 700,000 ants in perfect conditions. But life isn't an insect-themed Marvel movie. Factoring in slips, coordination issues, and general ant-disorder, a more realistic estimate is 1.5 to 2 million ants.

So, while the chances of a tiny army lifting you off the ground are slim, it’s still mind-blowing to imagine the raw strength packed into such small creatures. The next time you brush away an ant, remember - you might be swatting away a mini weightlifting champion.