Fleas, the annoying parasites that are the bane of a dog’s existence, are very interesting creatures. They are tiny and have no wings but amazingly have no problems climbing onto the backs of creatures and sometimes on people’s heads. This is because of their long hind legs that make the flea perfectly suited for jumping. They can jump 13 inches horizontally, which is 200 times their body length! That is like a human jumping nearly a quarter mile in a single leap. A new study published in the Journal of Experimental Biology unlocks the secret of the flea’s amazing jumping ability.