Sunday, November 6, 2011

This Makes Me So Sad and So Happy at the Same Time

Meet Winky the Spur Thigh Tortoise. She was donated to an English safari park in 2002 because she was depressed. She was depressed because she only had three legs! So her keepers developed an artificial limb for her: a plastic wheel mounted to her shell. After quickly wearing through the first design and the more robust second design, a third design involving an air-filled tire and a suspension system. She now has no problem navigating the ever-changing muddy British terrain of her habitat.



This is the kind of thing I wanted to do when I told my advisor I was interesting in zoology applications of mechanical engineering. And to think he just looked at me like I was crazy.

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