Water, running on it, and cuttlefish

[EHLO]

I'm drun k bat that shouldn't matter;

How fast would I (or my legs at least) have to be going in order to run on water?

I'm not sure why I ask but we're going to swim with the giant cuttlefish next week and it would be nice to have an alternate escape route should the slimy beggars take a dislike to me. (they're all hands you know)

[MRC_Hans]

There is a branch of waterskiing where they just use their feet. So the speed is within the abilities of a fast speed-boat. I would say in the neighbourhood of 30 kts (60 kph/40mph). That is the speed where your feet could support you on water, but I cannot imagine how you would be able to propel youself at anywhere near such a speed.

Hans

[TX50]

Yes, but I think there'd be a big difference between "aquaplaning" using the
soles of your feet and running on the surface like a cartoon character.

You'd just better face it, if Mr. Cuttlefish wants to plunge his proboscis into
your skull and suck out your brains there's nothing you can do to stop it!

[casebro]

You woud have to aqua-plane on one foot, while the other foot pushs you forward. Next pace, switch feet. So probably 70 mph. It would probably take less enegy to jump out of the water, confusing the cuttlefish. That should allow enough time for you to move a safe distance inland. Null Arbor ought to do it.

[Mercutio]

Giant cuttlefish aren't the poison ones. It's the little tiny, slow-moving, brightly colored poisonous ones you need to run away from.

Have fun!

[casebro]

But , slightly more seriously, feet do supply thrust, or we couldn't swim. Porpoises in shows 'run' across the water with only their tails in the water. The question would be "how fast would EHLO have to pump his feet to attain that condition?" Assuming Flipper can swim 40 mph, and he uses that much energy to 'tail walk', and humans can swim 2 mph, I'd say you need 20 times more energy than you have. I think that is out of bounds for an adrenaline surge.

[This Guy]

You could wear some really large Styrofoam shoes :D

[TX50]

Assuming Flipper can swim 40 mph, and he uses that much energy to 'tail walk', and humans can swim 2 mph, I'd say you need 20 times more energy than you have. I think that is out of bounds for an adrenaline surge.

It is possible to "fin" yourself out of the water a bit (even I can do it and
I'm more like a Right Whale than a dolphin) but it's a long way away from
"tail walking" a la "Flipper".

The original poster could always take off his bottle, knock off the valve and
ride it to the surface like a Polaris missile in an explosion of bubbles!
Ffffffwwooooosh!

[aggle-rithm]

Giant cuttlefish aren't the poison ones. It's the little tiny, slow-moving, brightly colored poisonous ones you need to run away from.

Have fun!

You wouldn't have to run away from them, just refrain from eating them.

However, if they were venemous rather than poisonous...

[aggle-rithm]

I watched a show on octopusi and their cousins this past weekend...I find it fascinating that, with all their talent at displaying different colors, they are in fact color-blind.

Mother Nature is a MAAAAD scientist!

[EHLO]

I like the gas bottle idea, although at this stage we're only snorkelling as apparently all the cuttlefish are close to shore (less than 2m water).

As for the blue-ringed type... I'd forgotten about those!

All in all, I think I'm more concerned about the water temperature and the effect on my manhood. :)

[Slimething]

Turn the tables on the little suckers. Pack a bottle of ink to uncap while swimming away.

ETA: If you do manage to run on water, don't forget the obligatory Curly "woo-woo-woo-woo-woo" call!

[Hokulele]

As for the blue-ringed type... I'd forgotten about those!


Blue ring is an octopus, no?

[calebprime]

I watched a show on octopusi and their cousins this past weekend...I find it fascinating that, with all their talent at displaying different colors, they are in fact color-blind.

Mother Nature is a MAAAAD scientist!

that's amazing. is that true?

they can change to match a color, but not check to see how they're doing?

[EHLO]

I watched a show on octopusi and their cousins this past weekend...I find it fascinating that, with all their talent at displaying different colors, they are in fact color-blind.

Mother Nature is a MAAAAD scientist!
that's amazing. is that true?

they can change to match a color, but not check to see how they're doing?


I didn't belive it either but found this (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=16376404) - So it seems to be true, which is indeed bizarre.


Blue ring is an octopus, no?

It is indeed. But we won't be looking for them!

We head off tomorrow morning for Whyalla (about 4.5 hours drive), so I'll let you know how it goes when we get back on Wednesday.

[neutrino_cannon]

Wait a second, are these cuttlefish proper? Cephalopods with a supportive internal cuttlebone don't get much over nine kilos IIRC. Not a huge threat.

Dosidicus squid, now those are scary.

[Wolfman]

It seems to me that people are neglecting a rather obvious source of propulsion...one which not only would get you moving plenty fast, but also (potentially) serve as a deterrent to any pursuing cuttlefish.

Simply eat lots and LOTS of beans before you go diving...then carefully keep the resulting "propellant" inside. If a cuttlefish goes for you, the reflexive releasing of the relevant sphincter muscle would release the stored gases immediately, propelling you forward. For added effect, put a little ink up in there before you go swimming, too...show those cuttlefish that humans have a few unexpected tricks up their sleeves, also!

(I am now waiting for some particularly nit-picky person to figure out how much gas would be needed, how many beans you'd need to generate that amount of gas, and how much pressure one would need to expel them at to create the needed propulsion)

[aggle-rithm]

that's amazing. is that true?

they can change to match a color, but not check to see how they're doing?

They are VERY accurate at picking out shades of grey, so in most cases the color they pick is pretty close.

In the program they showed one experiment that proved that a color-changing octopus could not distinguish between blue and yellow if the shade matched exactly.

[EHLO]

I'm back, safe and sound. The cuttlefish were completely uninterested in me, so no need for evasive action :)

The actual species is Sepia apama, the Giant Australian Cuttlefish, and they congregate to spawn in the bay this time every year, so there were hundreds about.

The displays that the males put on to warn off other males were quite spectacular.

I was stunned that the area is not a marine reserve, and being nestled between a giant steel works and a gas fractionation plant (and possible desalination plant) it doesn't look like it will ever be one. It's enough to turn me into a militant greenie!

Anyway… here are a couple of piccies…

http://www.casesensitive.com.au/temp/cf01.jpg

http://www.casesensitive.com.au/temp/cf02.jpg

http://www.casesensitive.com.au/temp/cf03.jpg

[neutrino_cannon]

Very nice pictures.

Now I am hungry.

[Schneibster]

Nice, ehlo! Sounds like a good time.