The Weinacht group (time resolved spectroscopy and quantum control) recently published new measurements of how molecules behave in intense laser fields on very short timescales. Their work studied molecular ionization in the limit of impulsive excitation - i.e. with laser pulses shorter than the timescale for nuclear dynamics (molecular vibrations). They found a general, counterintuitive response involving a delicate interplay of electronic and nuclear degrees of freedom. Their work (Péter Sándor et al., is highlighted as an Editor's Suggestion in Physical Review Letters.