Nature’s weirdest inspiration for food tech? Wombat poop. These Australian marsupials are famous for producing cube-shaped droppings — and for years, scientists had no idea how or why.

In 2018, scientists discovered how wombats create cube-shaped droppings — a world first in the animal kingdom. The secret? Subtle variations in the stretch and stiffness of their intestines. As food moves through, those internal contractions naturally shape the waste into tidy cubes… no corners required.

This peculiar biological trick intrigued engineers, who realized it could inspire more precise extrusion techniques in manufacturing. Think: pasta machines, soap blocks, even ceramics. By mimicking the way a wombat’s intestines compress and mold material, researchers proposed new designs for machines that need to form uniform, angular shapes without cutting.

Nature’s design, engineers’ gain.