Skinnydipping.... for SCIENCE!

[Pieguy]

I recently (about 10 minutes ago) saw a snippet of a program in which it said that fish move by undulating from side to side, whereas mammals (ie whales, dolphins, seals etc) move underwater by undulating up and down (similarly to running). I was intrigued, so I conducted a scientific inquiry: Can humans move like dolphins? We long ago stopped running on all fours, but just maybe....

I went out to the pool, stripped off my towel and got in. My first run was the "control"- how do Homo sapiens sapiens normally swim underwater? I found that we tend to swim by moving our legs. Nothing I didn't know already. Next I tested whether we could swim by undulating up and down. I found I could, but the legs provided most of the thrust. Finally out of sheer curiosity I tested whether we could move like fish. I found when I tried, all I managed was rotating back and forth.

So there you have it. Skinnydipping... for Science!

[Pieguy]

I recently (about 10 minutes ago) saw a snippet of a program in which it said that fish move by undulating from side to side, whereas mammals (ie whales, dolphins, seals etc) move underwater by undulating up and down (similarly to running). I was intrigued, so I conducted a scientific inquiry: Can humans move like dolphins? We long ago stopped running on all fours, but just maybe....

I went out to the pool, stripped off my towel and got in. My first run was the "control"- how do Homo sapiens sapiens normally swim underwater? I found that we tend to swim by moving our legs. Nothing I didn't know already. Next I tested whether we could swim by undulating up and down. I found I could, but the legs provided most of the thrust. Finally out of sheer curiosity I tested whether we could move like fish. I found when I tried, all I managed was rotating back and forth.

So there you have it. Skinnydipping... for Science!

[missouriboy]

Perhaps you didn't hold your tail-fin vertical enough?

[NudeTopher]

quote:

Originally posted by Pieguy:
I recently (about 10 minutes ago) saw a snippet of a program in which it said that fish move by undulating from side to side,

If you had the mobility to move from side-to-side to propel youself underwater you would not have the structural rigidity to stand upright on land. Of course, there may have been a time in our evolutionary past when this was possible.

[foux003]

Yes the lung fish.

[nimrod]

In the olympics and other swiming compititions the swimmers are now using what is called the dolphin stroke, or something similar, after the dive of the back stroke compitition, were they undulate themselves up and down, like a dolphin would, to propel themselves under the water at faster speeds than a regular stroke can take them.

[Donald M]

Actually, it's the Dolphin Kick, which may be done once underwater after diving off the blocks. (if I remember correctly). It's also the kick used with the Butterfly stroke.

If you bind your feet together, and use your arms for stability and a bit of propultion, you can move much like a dolphin (though not very efficiently).

Here's a real noodle scratcher: Bears and Whales are related (well distantly evolved).

[nimrod]

quote:

Originally posted by Donald M:
Actually, it's the Dolphin Kick, which may be done once underwater after diving off the blocks. (if I remember correctly). It's also the kick used with the Butterfly stroke.

If you bind your feet together, and use your arms for stability and a bit of propultion, you can move much like a dolphin (though not very efficiently).

Here's a real noodle scratcher: Bears and Whales are related (well distantly evolved).

Thank you for the clarification.