Fish, flesh, or fowl, commend all summer long

One number unites anything that flies or swims

(via io9)

"...the Strouhal Number, invented by Vincenc Strouhal just as the 1800s turned into the 1900s, is a way to compare the different species in a way that fits their massively different techniques into a narrow range. Almost all flapping creatures fit into a Strouhal range of 0.20 to 0.40. Birds of prey tend to circle around the 0.24 radius while bats are up in the 0.26 range. Dolphins and whales are an impressive 0.28. Different species with different evolutionary histories, tend to cluster around different Strouhal Numbers. This one unitless number shows the whole of evolutionary history."

Hummingbirds dive to sing with their tails

(from Discover)

"Many birds sing to woo females, but some hummingbirds go to great lengths to do so. They climb to between 5 and 40 metres before plummeting past perched females in death-defying dives. They pull up at the last minute, spread their tail feathers and produce a loud chirpy song. The song comes not from the birds' mouths, but from their tails. "

Pendulum Waves

"Fifteen uncoupled simple pendulums of monotonically increasing lengths dance together to produce visual traveling waves, standing waves, beating, and (seemingly) random motion."

This is... this is kind of mind blowing.

Squid, Octopus, Cuttlefish: Masters Of Camouflage

(link)

The Fool on the Hill ...

Click to start. Hang on for the ride.

Peacock Spider

Jumping spiders are the most adorable.

Narration by Jürgen Otto

Magazine Babbage's Difference Engine built entirely in Lego

(via Wired)

http://cdni.wired.co.uk/620x413/a_c/5504_WiredUK_Hero_lego_04_620x413.jpg

This working computer uses bits -- of Lego. Andrew Carol created a version of Charles Babbage's Difference Engine, built entirely from plastic building blocks. Babbage planned it in the 1840s but never realised it. Carol started six years ago and drew on his 15 years' experience as a software engineer at Apple: "I would work on one adder unit, modifying it until I could get as many of the bugs out as possible," says the Cupertino-based 47-year-old. "When you get one working, you can use it everywhere in the engine." The finished iteration uses about 2,000 Lego parts but the crank-operated computer is not as powerful as Babbage's would have been. "His would have been accurately made of brass. Mine's made out of a children's plastic toy."