If you need another reason to gloat why cats are better than dogs, here’s another. While dogs drink, they dunk their whole tongue into water and use it as a ladle, as many can attest to being a messy result, the cat has its own more refined technique.
Scientists in America have discovered that cats use an innate understanding of fluid dynamics, gravity and inertia ratios to move liquid from saucer to mouth without so much as spilling a single drop.
Researchers at MIT, Virginia Tech and Princeton University, who have studied cats for three years said that the technique exhibited “a perfect balance” between two physical forces.
The tip of the cat’s tongue scarcely brushes the liquid’s surface before it is rapidly drawn back. This technique forms a column of the liquid between the tongue and the surface, which the cat captures by closing its mouth. The liquid column relies on a balance between gravity pulling the liquid back into the bowl, and inertia.
Of the study, co-author Jeffrey M. Aristoff of Princeton says; "This suggests that cats are smarter than many people think, at least when it comes to hydrodynamics."
Source: The Telegraph - 13th November 2010
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