What’s inside a giant rubber band ball? The answer to that question seems so obvious it feels like it must be a trick question. I mean, it’s made entirely of rubber bands, right? So, uh, that’s what’s inside — bands of rubber. That was easy.

Okay, but you’re wrong. I was wrong. We were all so wrong. It turns out what’s really inside is a molting alien baby that has been waiting to spring to life as soon as someone came around to release it from its cocoon.

The folks behind the YouTube account “What’s Inside?” took a saw to some giant rubber band balls to answer the seemingly obvious question, but instead of just getting a bunch of useless strings of rubber, they got something that looked alive and ready to roam free.

As they cut the balls in half, the bands didn’t merely split apart and cause the ball to lose all structural integrity, instead the bands burst forward, in large clumps, that then broke apart as they were released from their bonds. The potential energy sprang to life, like a gang of prisoners bursting forth from a hole in the prison yard wall that they just noticed — but couldn’t believe was real for a second.

You could even hear the energy, almost like a giant rubber bowl of Snap, Crackle and Pop. Towards the end it even looked like the ball made up of the colored bands was giving birth to some alien species.

This is a great reminder that sometimes the “easiest” questions can have the best and most surprising answers.

How would you describe what these balls look liked as they were cut in half? Bounce into our comments below and tell us.

—

Images: What’s Inside/YouTube