Ya?l: I've got a good trivia question for you, Don.

Don: OK, Ya?l.

Y: What animal's beak is one of the hardest known organic substances?

D: Umm . . . I don't know. The bald eagle?

Y: Nope. It's the giant squid. A squid beak can reportedly snap through a steel cable.

D: That's actually sort of surprising . . . because aren't squid's bodies normally squishy and soft?

Y: Yes. And that's exactly what's puzzled scientists . . . how can such a hard beak be attached to a squid's soft, jello-like tissue without falling off or cutting the squid to bits? What the researchers found is that squids can control the amount of water that gets into their beaks. Because virtually no water is allowed into the tip, it stays very hard and stiff. There's more water inside the lower parts of the beak, making it gradually softer. At its base, the beak is soft enough to blend right into the squid's body.

D: Nature never fails to amaze.

Y: No doubt. And the discovery could inspire the invention of new building materials that mimic the squid beak's gradations of stiffness and flexibility. Engineers are also concerned with joining together different materials like metals, ceramics and plastics. Learning more about squid beaks could help scientists create adhesives that bond with metal on one side and plastic on the other, for example.

D: I wonder if squids know how dynamic their beaks are?

Y: You'd have to ask them.