We may not all want to be invincible, because wouldn’t it just be depressing to outlive all of your friends and family? But..there are definitely some moments when we wish we were.
For example, I would place a hefty bet that the guy who is terrified of planes would give anything for the comfort of knowing that even if his worst fears came true and the plane went down in a spectacular inferno—he would survive. We are also faced with the standard question of immortality: Do you get “old” looking? Would you visibly age until around 30 and then pull a Keanu-Reeves?
The world may never know.
Unless you are a Turritopsis dohrnii, that is.
Better known as the Immortal Jellyfish, these tiny (4.5 mm wide) blobs of sea-dwelling goo refuse to die. Once they reach sexual maturity and reproduce, they revert back to their juvenile, sexually immature state. Sounds like some humans who have a midlife crisis and act like they’re 25 when they’re actually pushing 50. The only way these jellyfish can “die” is if they get eaten or diseased (which kind of makes them non-immortal, right?) The point is, they never die from old age. They simply continue going through their life cycle over and over again until something bigger and badder comes along that thinks they would make a delicious treat. Whether you are confused by a jellyfish being called “immortal” that can really die or not, you have to admit the Turritopsis dohrnii seems to have this refusing-to-get-old thing figured out.