On Sun, Feb 22, 2004 at 08:07:07AM +0000, stephen parkinson wrote: > Nano Nano wrote: > >I'm a grown adult who in various small ways makes a conscious choice to > >violate certain laws, in a non-harmful way. This occurs at many levels > >in society (5 miles over the speed limit). The distinction is: DO YOU > >HARM ANYBODY. > > > >Dig? > > not until the following occurs...... > > current driving advert in the uk, suggests that travelling 5mph over the > 30mph limit, moves your stopping point about 20ft on, and the kid > doesn't bounce very well. That's a stupid advert. What it actually demonstrates is that the driver in the advert doesn't know how to brake in an emergency situation - the car slides to a halt with its front wheels locked. If the driver had avoided locking the wheels the car would have stopped in time. It also demonstrates that you shouldn't run out into the road without looking, and that parents whose kids lack road sense should keep them under control near roads. Mind you, it took me a long time to even realise what the advert was supposed to be about - because it also demonstrates a significant fact about bird anatomy. In most animals, the muscle to raise the forelimbs is connected between the limb and some point on the back. In birds, the muscle to raise the wings is located in the main mass of breast muscle; it comprises a quarter of the mass of the breast musculature, shares in its internal air-duct cooling system, and runs up between the shoulder joints to pull the wings up by a sort of sheave (pulley with non-rotating wheel) to convert the downward pull of the muscle into an upward pull on the wings. The reason for having such a massive muscle is clearly shown by the beautiful slow-motion shot of a pigeon, in the foreground, taking off almost vertically, and generating thrust on the upstroke as well as on the downstroke. -- Pigeon Be kind to pigeons Get my GPG key here: http://pgp.mit.edu:11371/pks/lookup?op=get&search=0x21C61F7F
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