Look at the cat picture. What do you associate here?
Multifunctionality
Cats are relaxed. Neat. They are into self-care.
And as cat people know – their tongue is … raspy.
And it is quite the multifunctional tool!
- Used for cleaning.
- Disentangling.
- Wetting the fur (to cool).
- Distributing skin oil (as it is water repellent).
- Picking up skin oil (as it is a vitamin D source).
Now … how does it work? That’s pure physics.
The hollow curved spines on their tongue provide for some weird biomechanics, like the capillary effect. That’s interesting for liquid transport; high-speed cameras showed that this is important for how cats drink water, too.
P. S. Cat tongue inspiration tip:
Look up “How cat tongues work – and can inspire human tech” by nationalgeographic.com 👍