Cheerful Curmudgeon

A complete lack of ideas and the power to express them.

  • Home
  • About Me
    • Art Zemon’s PGP Key
    • Privacy Policy
  • Bede BD-4C
    • Hall of Fame
  • Piper Arrow

Flying Snakes — How They Do It

May 16, 2005 Art Zemon

Found in Wired News: Furthermore

Switching to Glide
02:00 AM May. 14, 2005 PT Forget about snakes in the grass — beware of sailing serpents. While it’s not exactly news that some snakes take to the air, a University of Chicago researcher finally figured out exactly how the limbless reptiles pull off their amazingly effective bird imitations. “Despite their lack of winglike appendages, flying snakes are skilled aerial locomotors,” said biologist Jake Socha. Here’s how: First, they flatten their bodies from head to tail, making themselves “Frisbee-like in form,” Socha said. Then, as the snake drops (or leaps!) from a tree branch, it sends S-shaped waves through its body, steadying itself as it glides through the air. One species can even turn mid-flight. (The video is priceless.)
— Lewis Wallace

Socha’s web site is flyingsnake.org

Fun

Recent Posts

  • Stretching a Photo April 21, 2025
  • There are Elephants in the Room April 10, 2025
  • Let’s Eliminate Real WFA April 1, 2025
  • Thumb Wrist Neck Waist Height March 18, 2025
  • Avoid Targeted Advertisements February 5, 2025

About Art Zemon

Omni-curious geek. Husband. Father. Airplane builder & pilot. Bicyclist. Photographer. Computer engineer.

Categories

  • Aviation (261)
    • Bede BD-4C (174)
    • Soaring (5)
  • Bicycling (37)
    • St. Louis to Atlanta (8)
    • St. Peters to Minneapolis (18)
  • Business (48)
  • Cabbages & Kings (24)
  • Communicating (37)
  • Ecology (21)
  • Economy (8)
  • Family (35)
  • Finding the Good (43)
  • Fun (188)
    • Six Word Stories (8)
  • Gardening (5)
  • Genealogy (5)
  • Government (35)
  • Health (67)
  • Judaism (10)
  • Men (12)
  • Mideast (5)
  • Movies (8)
  • Philosophy (15)
  • Photography (27)
  • Rants & Raves (103)
  • Recommendations (35)
  • Safety (37)
  • Science (22)
    • Biology (7)
    • Physics (7)
    • Pyschology (3)
  • Technology (195)
    • eBooks (7)
    • Internet (66)
    • Software (63)
    • VOIP (5)
  • Travel (43)
  • Tzedakah (12)
  • Women (5)

You Will Also Like

  • Art Zemon's Genealogy
  • Art Zemon's Photos
  • Mastodon @babka.social
  • Mastodon @raphus.social

Search

#DonorForLife

6 gallon blood donor badge
#DonorForLife - Give Blood - Save Lives

Archives

Copyright © 2025 · Daily Dish Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in