MetaFilter posts tagged with pigeon

What... is the Airspeed Velocity of an Avian Carrier?

filthy light thief — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 13:03:37 -0800

For thousands of years they were the worlds' fastest means of communication. Count Rothschild benefited financially when knew of Napoleon's defeat long before any other persons in England, thanks to a swift personal message. One critical message traveled 20 miles in 20 minutes and this speedy delivery saved 150 British troops from disaster by less than five minutes. But in 1851, German-born Paul Julius Reuter opened an office in the City of London which transmitted stock market quotations between London and Paris via the new Dover-Calais cable, and the days of pigeon post as a means of quick and reliable message transfer passed with the implementation of wire-based communications. Reuter had previously used pigeons to fly stock prices between Aachen and Brussels, a service that operated for a year until a gap in the telegraph link was closed. One of the last large-scale use of carrier pigeons ended in 2002, when India retired its Police Pigeon Service, opting for email and telephone to access remote areas. Contrary to appearances, this was not the end of the pigeon post. Though largely considered a spoof, IP over Avian Carriers was implemented by a group of Linux enthusiasts in Bergen, Norway in 2001, when they transferred a "ping" with help of Vesta Brevdueforening carrier pigeon club and Alan Cox, with a calculated network speed of 0.08bps (previously). When it comes to tough terrain and limited to no wired or wireless access, homing pigeons provide a quick answer to data transfer. Photos taken by a rafting company are transferred via digital media files or 35mm canister attached to a pigeon, allowing photos to be developed or printed and ready more quickly, though data loss or delay due to predatory birds and bad weather are still an issue (via). In South Africa, homing pigeons beat out business ADSL in an unofficial test run, with a timed run contest set up to take place on September 10 (via). More bird-racing fun: On calculating the speed of an unladen swallow, previously, and 4,233 replies on an account request procedure form for What... is the Airspeed Velocity of an Unladen Swallow?

Isfahan's Ancient Pigeon Towers

BuddhaInABucket — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 08:55:32 -0800

Isfahan's Ancient Pigeon Towers were fabulously intricate works of architecture meticulously designed for the manufacture of pigeon guano. Here are some pictures of them- there are over 100 in Isfahan alone. More on 'dovecotes' in the western world.

The Pigeon

meech — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 23:49:49 -0800

Designer Jeff Staple may have his name on Levis but he really made his name in 2005 when, in conjunction with Nike, he put a pigeon logo on 200 pairs of Nike Dunks. Today they sell for up to $3000. In June The Pigeon made a special appearance on a camera and now The Pigeon returns on 650 pairs of New Balance shoes that are released globally on Wednesday. Nike probably wont be impressed.

first they came for the pigeons but i did not speak out because i was not a pigeon

Stynxno — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 13:20:15 -0800

"The Pigeons Won't Know What Hit Them" Robop .: Intelligent Bird Control for the third millennium.

It's not against any religion to want to dispose of a pigeon

Flitcraft — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 16:59:14 -0800

A wonderful bird is the Pelican. His bill can hold more than his belly can. But it's not against any religion to want to dispose of a pigeon... (Caution - last link video and all links Not Safe For Pigeon Lovers)

Bird brains?

Pink Fuzzy Bunny — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 16:49:09 -0800

Searchable Ornithological Research Archive a site containing back issues of avian journals dating back to 1884. Some highlights: The landing forces of domestic pigeons, [pdf] an 1889 comparison of bird brains [pdf]