giraffe lung size has long been a point of controversy
January 24, 2019 2:49 PM   Subscribe

 
Yes, but they never manage to do a proper two-handed touch for the breaststroke turn.
posted by GuyZero at 2:56 PM on January 24, 2019 [2 favorites]


You just know it's gonna be posted in this thread, so I'll just go ahead and save everyone else the search:   High Diving Giraffes
posted by los pantalones del muerte at 2:58 PM on January 24, 2019 [11 favorites]


Also, I vote we go back to calling them cameleopards, because that's a way more badass name.
posted by los pantalones del muerte at 3:00 PM on January 24, 2019 [5 favorites]


Can giraffes swim?

I dunno, has anyone asked them?
posted by Dr. Twist at 3:06 PM on January 24, 2019 [3 favorites]


Crap. Sort of double. This is what I get for not scrolling back far enough in the search results. The post I linked to is actually based on this from back in 2010: Testing the flotation dynamics and swimming abilities of giraffes by way of computational analysis
posted by not_the_water at 3:13 PM on January 24, 2019 [4 favorites]


Build them a pool and see if they take to it.
posted by GoblinHoney at 3:27 PM on January 24, 2019 [1 favorite]


Well obviously OP is not_the_water, because the_water would know.
posted by ZaphodB at 4:20 PM on January 24, 2019 [3 favorites]


I vote we go back to calling them cameleopards
Scientists still do! Scientific name: Giraffa camelopardalis
posted by agentofselection at 4:21 PM on January 24, 2019 [4 favorites]


First, assume a spherical giraffe.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 4:27 PM on January 24, 2019 [4 favorites]


of course they can

on preview, Pantalones got there fustest!

But did Mr Pants link you to the creator's site, where there are many more CGI implausibilties? Non!

More seriously, someone in my FB feed randomly shared an FB video link to a ganked copy of the film and as I watched it I realized that Monsieur DEVAUX almost certainly reviewed the cited paper - in one of the high reverses, you can clearly see one of the giraffes swimming in the specific manner theorized.
posted by mwhybark at 4:47 PM on January 24, 2019


Can is one thing. Want to is another.
Giraffes don't like to swim. Their butts are so skinny that their Speedos fall off.
posted by BlueHorse at 4:49 PM on January 24, 2019 [3 favorites]


Giraffes are one of the least spherical animals in creation.
posted by traveler_ at 5:33 PM on January 24, 2019


You haven’t mentioned if this is urgent or not; maybe you have accidentally dumped some giraffes into the Atlantic and had an afterthought — “Say...”

Either way, I’d say giraffes are the closest any animal comes to having a built-in snorkel.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:33 PM on January 24, 2019 [1 favorite]


I feel like this is one of those questions that would have been cheaper and quicker to solve by just assembling the necessary components and running the test as opposed to making this elaborate model - would no one provide them with 2.8 meters of water and one giraffe?
posted by aspersioncast at 9:00 PM on January 24, 2019


Either way, I’d say giraffes are the closest any animal comes to having a built-in snorkel?


Ehh, maybe a close second to elephants?
posted by darkstar at 10:25 PM on January 24, 2019


This is not a question that has ever occurred to me, and I feel happy for having had it answered so thoroughly immediately after having it posed.
posted by egypturnash at 11:15 PM on January 24, 2019


I once spent an afternoon with my sister trying to figure out if there were any animals that really *couldnt* swim. We watched a whole lot of youtube videos of animals swimming (I recommend this as an afternoon activity) and the only animal with no evidence at all of swimming was indeed the giraffe.

I will of course send this to her immediately.
posted by stillnocturnal at 2:11 AM on January 25, 2019 [4 favorites]


Perhaps you would like to see a man go to considerable trouble to investigate the question Can pigs swim?
posted by Wolfdog at 5:43 AM on January 25, 2019 [1 favorite]


could they, would they, swim a moat?
could they, would they, in a boat?
would they, should they, really float?
would they dive, and then, they gloat?
posted by mightshould at 9:10 AM on January 25, 2019


I once spent an afternoon with my sister...and the only animal with no evidence at all of swimming was indeed the giraffe.

Stillnocturnal, I commend you on your dedication to scientific research.
posted by BlueHorse at 10:33 AM on January 29, 2019 [1 favorite]


Ehh, maybe a close second to elephants?

You know, my gut feeling that an adult giraffe is taller than the uppermost reach of an adult elephant's trunk has never been field-tested, despite my numerous written requests submitted to the nearby safari park.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 4:46 PM on January 29, 2019 [1 favorite]


« Older “I was just looking for a second chance in a...   |   Facebook and Google Need to Start Paying... Newer »


This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments