Curious Cat Science and Engineering Blog » Ministry of Silly Walks

October 16, 2005

Ministry of Silly Walks

silly walk photo

The engineers’ computer simulations conclude that walking is simply most energy efficient for travel at low speeds, and running is best at higher speeds. And, they report, a third walk-run gait is optimal for intermediate speeds, even though humans do not appear to take advantage of it.

The findings help to explain why the possible–but preposterous–gaits in the Monty Python sketch, “Ministry of the Silly Walks,” have never caught on in human locomotion. The researchers add that extensions of this work might improve the design of prosthetic devices and energy-efficient bipedal robots.

You have to like a government news release that references a Monty Python sketch, don’t you? Especially if they realize Monty Python was poking fun at ludicrous government departments (using physical humor). I am glad they choose to add some spice to the scientific news. Learn more about the Ministry of Silly Walks.

by curiouscat Tags: Life Science, Research, Robots, Students
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3 Responses to “Ministry of Silly Walks”

CuriousCat: And Now for Something Completely Different Says:
April 10th, 2007 at 8:46 am
“The cat was nicknamed Macavity after the mystery cat in T.S Elliot’s poem. He gets on the bus in front of a row of 1950s semi-deta…”
CuriousCat: Walking Without Shoes Says:
April 24th, 2008 at 7:39 pm
Last year, researchers at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, published a study titled “Shod Versus Unshod: The Emergence of Forefoot Pathology in Modern Humans?”
CuriousCat: Now for Something Completely Different Says:
July 14th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
I think we might have another young engineering on our hands, with the right training She knows what she wants and isn’t stymied by constraints that would probably blind most of us to the possibilities…