PHOTO: CHEZ LOULOU/WIKIPEDIA, THINKSTOCK X5, NJGJ/WIKIPEDIA, ALAMY X4, SUPERSTOCK X3
Why do birds fly in formation?
Birds that fly in a ‘V’ formation
are helping each other out
by maximising the effect of
upward-moving airWhat’s the record for
the longest-running
machine?
The longest running machine is very
likely to be a clock. The oldest one still
going is the Medieval clock in Beauvais
Cathedral in northern France, claimed to
date back to 1305. Salisbury Cathedral
boasts a clock from 1386. Both have run
almost continuously.
The oldest working internal combustion
engine is the Otto Langen serial number 1.
It was built in 1867 and is still cranked up in
its home, the Technikum Engine Museum in
Cologne in Germany. Though not strictly a
machine, the ‘Centennial Light’ also deserves
a mention. It is an incandescent light bulb
that has been lit almost continuously since- It has a carbon filament that glows
bright yellow within an evacuated hand-blown
glass bulb. The bulb hangs in a fire station at
Livermore in California. GM - Vieux-Boulogne
Ingredient: Cow’s milk
Origin: Boulogne-sur-Mer,
France
Age: 7-9 weeks - Pont-l’Évêque
Ingredient: Cow’s milk
Origin: Normandy, France
Age: 6 weeks - Camembert de
Normandie
Ingredient: Cow’s milk
Origin: Normandy, France
Age: minimum 3 weeks - Munster
Ingredient: Cow’s milk
Origin: Alsace-Lorraine,
France
Age: 3 weeks - Brie de Meaux
Ingredient: Cow’s milk
Origin: Ile de France
Age: 4-8 weeks - Roquefort
Ingredient: Sheep’s milk
Origin: Roquefort-sur-
Soulzon, France
Age: 3 months - Reblochon
Ingredient: Cow’s milk
Origin: Haute-Savoie
region, France
Age: 3-4 weeks - Livarot
Ingredient: Cow’s milk
Origin: Normandy, France
Age: 3 months - Banon
Ingredient: Goat’s milk
Origin: Provence region,
France
Age: 1-2 weeks - Époisses de
Bourgogne
Ingredient: Cow’s milk
Origin: Burgundy, France
Age: 4-6 weeks
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The cheeses were judged by 19 members of
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Many bird species fly together in
V-shaped formations, and naturalists have
long suspected this has something to do
with aerodynamic efficiency. The truth has
now been uncovered by researchers after
fitting flocking birds with tiny data-loggers.
In research published recently in Nature,
a team led by Dr Steven Portugal of the
Royal Veterinary College, London, show
that birds are indeed arranging themselves
into the most aerodynamic – and thus least
exhausting – formation.It turns out the V-shape is best for exploiting
the upward-moving air generated by the
preceding bird in the formation. This reduces
the amount of lift the next bird has to create
itself, enabling it to conserve energy. The birds
even adjust the rhythm of their flapping to
make the most of the effect.
Birds that fly in a line behind one another
aren’t stupid, though: they’ve opted to avoid
the downwash of those ahead of them, again
deliberately altering their rhythm to minimise
the loss of lift. RMThe Medieval clock in Beauvais Cathedral is still going