A team led by the University of Oxford has solved a mystery that has intrigued scientists for centuries: how does the squirting cucumber squirt? The findings, achieved through a combination of experiments, high-speed videography, image analysis, and advanced mathematical modelling, have been published today in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) . The squirting cucumber ( Ecballium elaterium , from the Greek ‘ekballein,’ meaning to throw out) is named for the ballistic