Remember when you were little and thought your toys could walk on their own? When Animal Planet seemed to promise there were huge, beautiful beasts out in the world you could observe within breathing distance if you just went to the right savanna?
Since 1990, the Dutch artist Theo Jansen has been creating towering, many-limbed sculptures that “walk on the wind.” His Strandbeests are made of PVC piping and plastic bottles which form a stomach, setting up a pressure differential when pumped with air. Thermodynamics, piston action, and the gas laws then cause the sculpture to be propelled forward for an indefinite amount of time when the wind blows. The effect is lifelike, so much so that they were given Latin names while we ponder their rightful places within the phylogenetic tree. (Animaris Currens Vulgaris was the first Strandbeest to walk independently.) To see some of the specimens in action, check out this video from the BBC. The nerd inside of me did a mega-fist pump.
Creative Commons Love: detsugu on Flickr.com
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