The Lotus Effect

I am reading a book now called "The Gecko's Foot". it's about inventions brought about by bio-inspiration. the first chapter was about the lotus effect, which is the term for the way lotus leaves are self-cleaning. these scientists would look at leaves under the microscope all the time but leaves need to be cleaned first. then they noticed that some leaves don't ever need to be cleaned. under strong magnification, the surface of a lotus leaf is all jiggy-jaggy, like the teeth of a comb. A drop of water will actually sit on the leaf, not flattened out like how it would on say, on glass, but very round, almost like a ball. this is because of the air, the "space" between the comb teeth pushing upwards on the water droplet. because the water stays more spherical, it also refracts light more, making it sparkly, appearing to have inner light. below is a picture i took on maui of some leaves in a pond. the water on them actually looked like shiny gems, but i didn't know why at the time. lotus leaves are self cleaning because when water rolls off the leaf, it takes all dirt and particles with it because the dirt is more attracted to the water than to the jiggy-jaggy leaf surface. anyway, they are now using the lotus effect as inspiration for things like self-cleaning paint for houses, and fabric-- remember that GAP commercial? or was it dockers? those spill-proof pants use the lotus effect! they're looking at other ways they can use it too.. pretty neat stuff.