>The term “spongy bone” doesn’t mean that the bone is soft or can compress, he says. Rather, it indicates that the bone is porous and lightweight

So part of the misconception can be blamed on a connotation of a metaphor that doesn't apply. Very common in physics!

Neat!

Turns out that woodpeckers don’t need extra shock-absorbers. They are small enough that the normal fluid around their brain provides the protection it needs.

Woodpeckers are super cool but whow can they be a menace.

There was one that would come knock my neighbors metal chimney years ago right at the crack of dawn. Poor guy could not sleep in. And the woodpecker kept coming back and doing it, presumably just to make a loud racket because there were no bugs obviously.

Another guy I know who was quite wealthy had a carved wooden lintel made for the top of his door. It was made in Mexico and quite intricate (and expensive). He proudly showed it to me over the door. A week later woodpeckers had ruined it.

They are still cool birds though.

There’s a great video by a different scientist that explains the importance of size, mass, and duration of deceleration very clearly. https://youtu.be/a87TTL_c8_0

Doesn't a woodpecker's tongue also play a roll in protecting it? Or is the just a myth?

Pistol shrimp do though! Original article [0] and HN discussion from yesterday [1].

[0] https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/07/pistol-shrimp-sport-...

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32080559

Turns out Leonardo was wrong after all

What a coincidence, just finished reading Walter Isaacson's biography of Da Vinci yesterday

Can't read the article; does anyone else get redirected to some "you are visitor N and a winner!" shit? Firefox on iPhone fwiw.

Helps to not have your brain rest against cavities as sharp as knives, like humans.

That may explain the behavior of Woody Woodpecker.

Sigma