"Woodsie Wigglers"

Buckle up, little scientists, because it’s time for Camping Knowledge, harvested fresh from the wilderness.

Did you know …

That chipmunks are exactly the same on the inside as they are on the outside? It’s true!

Chipmunks are able to turn themselves inside-out at will, sort of like a water-weenie (or a “water wiggler,” depending on branding, I guess.) If you’re not familiar with water-weenies, they’re basically rubber cylinders, the walls of which are inflated with fluid. Sort of like a penis, I guess, except that water-weenies turn themselves inside out as a matter of course, which is not something recommended for most penes. If this description doesn’t fully summon a helpful mental image, I recommend traveling backwards in time to the early 1990s and checking out the gift shop of your local science center.

But this post isn’t about water-weenies, it’s about chipmunks. In order to escape predators, chipmunks can easily slide their skin around and through their bodies, allowing them the slip from tight situations. You’d never guess that this is possible, because an inside-out chipmunk looks exactly like an outside-out chipmunk. But once you’ve found yourself with a mouthful of chipmunk hair and mucus but no chipmunk, well, it becomes pretty obvious.