We came across these unusual candies in the local store, that are advertised as glowing bugs ... little candy bugs that glow when you pick them up with the tongs provided in the package. How cool is that? We couldn't resist. Not only did we want to see them glow, but we wanted to figure out how they worked! We'll show you the 'bugs' and how they do indeed light up, and then let you try to figure out how they work. On the left you can see the tray of worm candies, and the tongs provided to pick them up. On the right is a close-up of the end of the tongs. They are shaped nicely to fit around the worms' bodies. The tips (the parts that actually come into contact with the worms) seem to be ordinary plastic. According to the instructions, when we pick up a worm it should glow. Here goes! Amazingly, the worms do glow, and quite brightly. They glow enough to light up things around them too. The worms appear to be simple jelly, and are completely edible (we tested that too. They're delicious). The worms only glow when picked up by the tongs. What could be causing the worms to glow? Here are some possible answers that we got from people we asked. Not all of them are plausible. In fact, the further down the list you go, the less likely! The worms conduct electricity, and glow when electrified by a current from the tongs. The worms react to the plastic somehow, and phosphoresce when touched. The worms are radioactive. The glow worms are ALIVE!! No-one guessed the right answer ... probably because it's so simple! Want the answer? Find out more about how the tongs work here. General Science | Science & Math | Worsley School Content, HTML & design by © 1996 - Wunderland Website Design