LL-L "Tradition" 2011.01.03 (05) [EN]

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L O W L A N D S - L - 03 January 2011 - Volume 05
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From: Hellinckx Luc <luc.hellinckx at gmail.com>

Subject: LL-L "Tradition"



Beste Mark,



On 03/01/11, at 22:54, you wrote:

Sandy, with that childhood experiment you rediscovered an essential property
of eggs. They are designed by Nature *not* to roll *far*. Try this with
anything from an ostrich egg to a sparrow's egg. The rolling egg makes a
small circle back to its starting point, & if the slope is too steep for
that, the lowest point of the circle with the big end pointing down-slope.
With some cliff-dwelling sea-birds out your end, the egg is an extreme of
the form, to make the rolling circle as small & tight as possible. I bet you
the tale about rolling eggs downhill is or started as a tease on kids by
adults who knew better. An egg is an ovoid cone. Any schoolboy could tell
you why an egg is round on the ends...



Now that is a very, very interesting remark you're making there! About an
egg having the best possible shape not to roll very far from where it was
deposited. From what I read, I understand that birds nesting on cliffs have
pushed this feature to an extreme (much more conical), whereas those nesting
in a hole are laying almost spherical eggs. Probably also enables biologists
to make a guess about the environment in which now distinct animals must
have lived...how interesting!



Rejoice Darwin!



Kind greetings,



Luc Hellinckx, Halle, Belgium



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