The throat of the Clark's nutcracker can temporarily store up to 150 small seeds thanks to an expandable pouch.

Expand and collapse: Many of life’s containers are flexible, like the throat pouch of the Clark’s nutcracker that expands to hold 150 pine-nut-sized seeds, or the pelican pouch that scoops 3 gallons of seawater, then returns to shape. What if we could design a juice bottle that would fill up like a sturdy balloon, then collapse to a small disk when its liquid is gone? You could store it in your pocket as a go-cup, or send hundreds back to the manufacturer in a single envelope.

Last Updated November 30, 2018