I Didn't Know That

[neufer]

Perhaps that Polar Bear is looking for an Eskimo Pie

[geckzilla]

I didn't know they could do this.

[Beyond]

Sticky feet.

[geckzilla]

Stick feet, yes. Backflips from branches? Wat

[Beyond]

They're agile. Once it got used to where it is, and discovered that it sticks well to glass, no-problamento. In the wild, they don't have that situation.
Neat to watch.

[neufer]

[img3="Setae (Latin: "bristle") on the toes of a gecko"]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... _glass.JPG[/img3]

<<The toes of the gecko have a special adaptation that allows them to adhere to most surfaces without the use of liquids or surface tension. The spatulae tipped setae on gecko footpads facilitate attractive forces called van der Waals forces to arise between the β-keratin lamellae/setae/spatulae structures and the surface.

One study suggested that capillary adhesion might play a role, but that hypothesis has been rejected by more recent studies.

These van der Waals interactions involve no fluids; in theory, a boot made of synthetic setae would adhere as easily to the surface of the International Space Station as it would to a living room wall, although adhesion varies with humidity. The setae on the feet of geckos are also self cleaning and will usually remove any clogging dirt within a few steps. Teflon, which has very low van der Waals forces, is more difficult for geckos to adhere to than many other surfaces.

Geckos' toes seem to be "double jointed", but this is a misnomer. Their toes actually bend in the opposite direction from human fingers and toes. This allows them to overcome the van der Waals force by peeling their toes off surfaces from the tips inward. In essence, this peeling action alters the angle of incidence between millions of individual setae and the surface, reducing the Van der Waals force. Geckos' toes operate well below their full attractive capabilities for most of the time. This is because there is a great margin for error depending upon the roughness of the surface, and therefore the number of setae in contact with that surface.

Use of small van der Waals attraction force requires very large surface areas: every square millimeter of a gecko's footpad contains about 14,000 hair-like setae. Each seta has a diameter of 5 micrometers. Human hair varies from 18 to 180 micrometers, so a human hair could hold between 3 and 36 setae. Each seta is in turn tipped with between 100 and 1,000 spatulae. Each spatula is 0.2 micrometer long, or just below the wavelength of visible light.

If a typical mature 70 g gecko had every one of its setae in contact with a surface, it would be capable of holding aloft a weight of 133 kg: each spatula can exert an adhesive force of 10 nanonewtons. Each seta can resist 10 milligrams-force (100 µN), which is equivalent to 10 atmospheres of pull. Recent studies have also revealed that apart from the setae, phospholipids - fatty substances produced naturally in their body - also come into play. These lipids lubricate the setae and allow the gecko to detach its foot before the next step.

About 60% of gecko species have adhesive toe pads which have been gained and lost repeatedly over the course of gecko evolution. Adhesive toepads evolved independently in about 11 different gecko lineages and were lost in at least nine lineages.>>

[Beyond]

A Rare Mountain Tornado in Evans Colorado at 11,900 feet.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/ra ... 04914.html

[bystander]

Starbucks of Ancient America?
Science NOW | Elizabeth Norton | 2012 Aug 06

[i]All the buzz. Traces of black drink, a highly caffeinated drink indigenous to the southeastern United States, were found in beakers like these from Cahokia, an ancient city outside current-day St. Louis, Missouri. Credit: Photo by Linda Alexander; Courtesy of the Illinois State Archaeological Survey[/i]

---

Thousand-Year-Old Dirty Tea Cups
Discover Blogs | 80beats | 2012 Aug 08

[Beyond]

Last chance to see a blue moon until 2015, is this friday 8/31/12.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-205_162-575 ... rs-friday/

[Ann]

blue-moon_620x350.jpg

Last chance to see a blue moon until 2015, is this friday 8/31/12.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-205_162-575 ... rs-friday/

If it only would turn blue on those occasions! But it doesn't!

Ann

[bystander]

According to the old Maine Farmers' Almanac, it isn't a blue moon. That's an error perpetrated by Sky & Telescope in 1946, which stuck. According to the Farmers' Almanac definition, the next blue moon is in August 2013.

A "Blue Moon" Heralds the Harvest
http://asterisk.apod.com/viewtopic.php?t=846#p92325

[Beyond]

I'll let CBS and the rest of them fight over it. Like Ann said - it doesn't really turn blue anyway, so it's not like we're really missing anything. But it is a nice color in the picture.

[Beyond]

World's Shortest Man and Woman Meet.

untitled.png (73 KiB) Viewed 987 times

http://health.yahoo.net/articles/worlds ... woman-meet

[Moonlady]

World's Shortest Man and Woman Meet.

untitled.png

http://health.yahoo.net/articles/worlds ... woman-meet

I wish them leading a happy and healthy life!

I am not complaining anymore that I am short

One of my friends went to a physician because the women in their family were shorter each generation, she is 1.49 cm and very slim, buying her clothes in kids section,
and the physician said, as long as the organs have space, there is everything fine.

[Moonlady]

blue-moon_620x350.jpg

Last chance to see a blue moon until 2015, is this friday 8/31/12.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-205_162-575 ... rs-friday/

If it only would turn blue on those occasions! But it doesn't!

Ann

Oh Ann, I will make you a special gift for your birthday, if it wasn't already, or New Year's Day! PM me !

[Beyond]

World's Shortest Man and Woman Meet.

untitled.png

http://health.yahoo.net/articles/worlds ... woman-meet

I wish them leading a happy and healthy life!

I am not complaining anymore that I am short

One of my friends went to a physician because the women in their family were shorter each generation, she is 1.49 cm and very slim, buying her clothes in kids section,
and the physician said, as long as the organs have space, there is everything fine.

1.49cm Gee, she would fit in a tea cup! I think i see a c were it doesn't belong. 1.49cm = m = 1.49m

[Ann]

blue-moon_620x350.jpg

Last chance to see a blue moon until 2015, is this friday 8/31/12.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-205_162-575 ... rs-friday/

If it only would turn blue on those occasions! But it doesn't!

Ann

Oh Ann, I will make you a special gift for your birthday, if it wasn't already, or New Year's Day! PM me !

Ohh, I'm looking forward to it!!!



My birthday was in June, but New Year's Eve...?




Ann

[Ann]

I'm impressed that the extremely short man has lived to 72. I hope he will celebrate several more birthdays, and I wish the short young lady a long and happy life.

Ann

[Moonlady]

World's Shortest Man and Woman Meet.

untitled.png

http://health.yahoo.net/articles/worlds ... woman-meet

I wish them leading a happy and healthy life!

I am not complaining anymore that I am short

One of my friends went to a physician because the women in their family were shorter each generation, she is 1.49 cm and very slim, buying her clothes in kids section,
and the physician said, as long as the organs have space, there is everything fine.

1.49cm Gee, she would fit in a tea cup! I think i see a c were it doesn't belong. 1.49cm = m = 1.49m

No, really she is very very short, tiny...hardly visible to the naked eye , yes it is meant in 1.49 m, Mr. Metricsystemsupercalculator

[Moonlady]

If it only would turn blue on those occasions! But it doesn't!

Ann

Oh Ann, I will make you a special gift for your birthday, if it wasn't already, or New Year's Day! PM me !

Ohh, I'm looking forward to it!!!



My birthday was in June, but New Year's Eve...?

Ann

I skipped Christmas, but if you will celebrate out of solidarity Christmas, you will get the gift faster
or there are Swedish Celebrations I don't know

I love that picture with the happy people ♥

[Beyond]

World’s Tallest Man Meets World’s Shortest Man

The world's tallest man Sultan Kosen (8 ft 1 in), and the shortest man in the world He Pingping (2 ft 5 in) met for the first time yesterday. I have to assume that they then became best friends and started hanging out all the time.
((This is about two years ago, but i just ran into it now.))

[Moonlady]

You never know on what you reside! Take a good look under your sofa!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstop ... -sofa.html

I thought, they would find some old bones, but he got more lucky, they should track the system wherever that leads.

[Beyond]

Well, what can i say about it that hasn't already been well said?

[Ann]

Well well well! From the 16th century in Devon, Great Britain! Say, you don't think a certain bard has dug it? It's not all that far from Stratford-upon-Avon. (And not even that far from Oxford!)

Imagine having it in the house. But I think the family has it well trained.

Ann

[Beyond]

Even ducks have to watch out for quack-ups.

http://www.wfsb.com/video?clipId=7695568&autostart=true