Researcher: "Well, you see, when hippos run very fast, there are moments when their four limbs are in the air, it's as if-"
Journalist: "HIPPOPOTAMOS CAN FLY!!!! THE FUCKING HIPPOS FLY!!!! A HIPPO JUST HIT THE PENTAGON!"
this post was submitted on 01 Jun 2025
715 points (98.6% liked)
Science Memes
19986 readers
2993 users here now
Welcome to c/science_memes @ Mander.xyz!
A place for majestic STEMLORD peacocking, as well as memes about the realities of working in a lab.
Rules
- Don't throw mud. Behave like an intellectual and remember the human.
- Keep it rooted (on topic).
- No spam.
- Infographics welcome, get schooled.
This is a science community. We use the Dawkins definition of meme.
Research Committee
Other Mander Communities
Science and Research
Biology and Life Sciences
- !abiogenesis@mander.xyz
- !animal-behavior@mander.xyz
- !anthropology@mander.xyz
- !arachnology@mander.xyz
- !balconygardening@slrpnk.net
- !biodiversity@mander.xyz
- !biology@mander.xyz
- !biophysics@mander.xyz
- !botany@mander.xyz
- !ecology@mander.xyz
- !entomology@mander.xyz
- !fermentation@mander.xyz
- !herpetology@mander.xyz
- !houseplants@mander.xyz
- !medicine@mander.xyz
- !microscopy@mander.xyz
- !mycology@mander.xyz
- !nudibranchs@mander.xyz
- !nutrition@mander.xyz
- !palaeoecology@mander.xyz
- !palaeontology@mander.xyz
- !photosynthesis@mander.xyz
- !plantid@mander.xyz
- !plants@mander.xyz
- !reptiles and amphibians@mander.xyz
Physical Sciences
- !astronomy@mander.xyz
- !chemistry@mander.xyz
- !earthscience@mander.xyz
- !geography@mander.xyz
- !geospatial@mander.xyz
- !nuclear@mander.xyz
- !physics@mander.xyz
- !quantum-computing@mander.xyz
- !spectroscopy@mander.xyz
Humanities and Social Sciences
Practical and Applied Sciences
- !exercise-and sports-science@mander.xyz
- !gardening@mander.xyz
- !self sufficiency@mander.xyz
- !soilscience@slrpnk.net
- !terrariums@mander.xyz
- !timelapse@mander.xyz
Memes
Miscellaneous
founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
Ok Georgie boy, you've trained for this. Sit and wait for your handler. Just sit and wait for your handler.
And it is now the penta gone!
Ok Iβll see myself outβ¦
And it is now the penta gone!
Ok Iβll see myself out.
#Yo dawg.
#I heard you like comments.
#So I prefix every line with a hashtag so I can comment my comment while I comment.
exit 1
The user just wanted their post toβ¦
β¦βtake offβ.
πYYEEEAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH
just Tumblr Brain things
main.cpp:1:2: error: invalid preprocessing directive #Yo
1 | #Yo dawg.
| ^~
main.cpp:3:2: error: invalid preprocessing directive #I
3 | #I heard you like comments.
| ^
main.cpp:5:2: error: invalid preprocessing directive #So
5 | #So I prefix every line with a hashtag so I can comment my comment while I comment.
| ^~
main.cpp:7:1: error: βexitβ does not name a type
7 | exit 1
| ^~~~
main.cpp:1:1: note: βexitβ is defined in header ββ; did you forget to β#include β?
+++ |+#include <cstdlib>
1 | #Yo dawg.
Sorry, mate. I dropped this.
#!/usr/bin/env bash
Is it even considered running if that doesn't happen?
But can hippos reach escape velocity?
They can but not by themselves
Next time on Smarter Every Day!
One thing I learned from Kerbal space program is that anything flies with enough boosters
I am very certain that most animals can get airborne, even for prolonged periods of time,when reaching high enough speed. The trick lies in accelerating them to sufficient speed. Safe landing and deceleration can also pose a problem.
I mean, if you're just yeeting animals off a cliff, then they can all "fly".
The OP said "get airborne". Controlled flight was not part of the discussion.
Touche
https://www.horsesandus.com/the-4-basic-horse-gaits-explained/
Neat breakdown of walk vs trot vs canter vs gallop, for horses.
Non-nonsensical headline and brief summary of hipoos gaits: evidently they have been observed reaching a trot, which does include moments where two feet are coming up, and two down, thus for that brief moment, the hippo is 'suspended' or... """airborne""".
When I woke up this morning, I didn't anticipate I'd be spending 15 minutes reading about how horses walk, but it was well worth that time!
Happy to help put a little getty-up in your get-along, haha!
I feel like I am part of a rather rare confluence of relavant demographics here:
Was raised around horses, have dated horse girls, have ridden and cared for horses.
Have been a copy editor for a student newspaper.
Have also done a lot of game modding and aleays been a tech dork, so the kinematics/mechanics of properly animated horses are also interesting that way.
Yeah they can fly when they poop and propeller-spin their tails.
Fun fact: if a hippo runs fast enough they can travel trough time
I know it's a comment, but they didn't have to comment every line
Itβs a screenshot of Tumblr tags, very common on tumblr to hide whole essays in tags
Sure, but that doesn't excuse or exclude it from being frustrating, annoying, and just generally unpleasant.
i've never understood it either, it makes sense to separate out short quips but when it's a full reply it's.. meant to go in the reply field..
Fly, my pretties! Fly!
Just to chase flying pigs.
Ahctually it's not running unless all feet are off the ground at some point.
Only for bipedals. Quadrupedal animals can well keep a leg on the ground at all times even when moving at speed. To borrow from another comment here: Would you call a stampeding elephant "walking"?
