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The glass city’s highest achievement was the eradication of vampire attacks. The downside was the bat bodies littering the glass walkways.

Researchers of the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Seewiesen have discovered that buildings with glass facades act like an acoustic mirror for bats. They  observed that smooth glass reflects the echolocation calls of bats until shortly before collision. The risk of collision increases if the bat is travelling rapidly. Not one to cast the first stone in a glass house, Gabrielle Bleu instead casts this discovery into a fantasy world, where inhabitants in glass cities gain the ultimate advantage against vampire bats. Could this be why vampires avoid mirrors? // Alex Massey

//Gabrielle Bleu @BeteMonstrueuse deepest fears are dogs and the ocean. She enjoys talking about bats, and old things buried in archives.//