Could a bird propel a skateboard by flapping its wings?

That is to say, could they get enough forward thrust to push themselves along, without taking off? Maybe with like a little perch to hang onto...

62 points · 33 comments · view on lemmy.world

33 Comments

LanternEverywhere@kbin.social · 45 pts · 2y (11 replies)

There's nothing in the laws of physics that precludes it. Skateboards can be extremely light and have ball bearings with extremely little friction. It's not all that unusual for a strong breeze to make a board start rolling all by itself

Worx@lemmynsfw.com · 26 pts · 2y (10 replies)

Quite right. It's only bees 🐝 that are prohibited from skateboarding by the laws of physics.

(Is this meme still relevant or am I getting old?)

neidu2@feddit.nl · 13 pts · 2y (1 reply)

According to all known laws of skateboarding, there is no way a bee should be able to do a kickflip. Its wings are too small to get its fat little body rolling over the ground.

card797@champserver.net · 1 pts · 2y

I bet a Harpy's Eagle could flip a board.

mPony@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 2y

getting old

jaybone@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 2y

Five bees for a nickel.

bionicjoey@lemmy.ca · 1 pts · 2y (5 replies)

Do ya like jazz?

mPony@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 2y (4 replies)
Ziggurat@sh.itjust.works · 4 pts · 2y (1 reply)

As someone who enjoy listening to "weird cover" thanks (Is there a /c/ for that ? )

mPony@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 2y

a) thanks! I'll take that as a compliment.

b) we have two full albums of these, and a third on the way.

c) If there is a /c/ for people who do covers I'd love to know : I need to find my people :)

My_friend_Johnny@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 2y (1 reply)

You killed a great song. That was horrible. Guess we all have our own opinion

mPony@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 2y

Finally, someone actually said they didn't like it. Thank you.

AlolanYoda@mander.xyz · 15 pts · 2y (1 reply)

Someone has been playing Skatebird!

TheBananaKing@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 2y

First I've heard of it, but now I kinda want to.

Octospider@kbin.social · 11 pts · 2y (4 replies)

I'm sure an eagle could even pick it up and fly away with it. I've seen eagles pick up mountain goats.

TheBananaKing@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 2y (3 replies)

Yea, but I was talking about taxiing like a plane on the runway.

BearOfaTime@lemm.ee · 7 pts · 2y (2 replies)

Surely you can see the energy required to pickup and fly with a skateboard is orders of magnitude greater than simply pushing the skateboard?

TheBananaKing@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 2y (1 reply)

Yes, and that's not the question I'm asking.

I'm asking whether they could sustain forward thrust in a standing position, and without actually taking off.

sukhmel@programming.dev · 2 pts · 2y

Most likely, yes. If anything, a bird may stand in reverse and flap the wings in front of itself.

But I would expect that its maneuver ability would allow it to do so in different ways ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Blizzard@lemmy.zip · 7 pts · 2y (4 replies)

A sparrow or a condor?

Kolanaki@yiffit.net · 19 pts · 2y (1 reply)

African or European swallow?

Da_Boom@iusearchlinux.fyi · 7 pts · 2y

I don't know that! AAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaa

TheBananaKing@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 2y (1 reply)

Let's assume we size the board to fit the bird :)

sukhmel@programming.dev · 1 pts · 2y

To fit by size or by mass?

That's likely irrelevant, as rolling friction may be made quite low anyway

slazer2au@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 2y (4 replies)

I have no doubt a bin chicken could.

NoIWontPickAName@kbin.earth · 3 pts · 2y (3 replies)

Is that a seagull or a pigeon?

slazer2au@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 2y (1 reply)

An ibis

NoIWontPickAName@kbin.earth · 3 pts · 2y

I’ll be damned

Skua@kbin.earth · 2 pts · 2y
Diplomjodler3@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 2y

Any but the smallest of birds should do it easily.

tunetardis@lemmy.ca · 3 pts · 2y (2 replies)

I don't see why not, though I bet it can't go as fast as a turtle on a skateboard?

synae@lemmy.sdf.org · 4 pts · 2y (1 reply)

I AM SPEED 🐢

sukhmel@programming.dev · 4 pts · 2y

You were going so fast you dropped this: 🛹

AnAustralianPhotographer@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 2y
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