10.10.2011

Cetacean Carcasses in Cutouts (Rah for Child-Friendly Radiolab)

The kids and I have been listening to a lot of Radiolab podcasts on the iPad, in the car*. It remains my favorite non-KQED-produced public media show. If you're not already a listener, then, to paraphrase co-host Robert Krulwich, "I pity you for how much you don't yet know."

This video, inspired by the episode Loops, "is an intricate world of paper cutouts to illustrate the different stages a whale carcass goes through after dropping to the bottom of the ocean." I especially appreciate the elegant representation of flowing hagfish mucus.

Can't wait to show the kids when they get home today!



*Parents might want to pre-screen episodes for occasional disturbing and/or adult-themed content.

3 comments:

  1. heh. . . mucous. . . heh!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Did you know that hagfish skin is wonderful, supple stuff? Makes great wallets, etc. But no one wants to work with the agnathans' incredibly potent, sticky mucus. So, alas, hagfish farming is not the powerhouse industry it could be.

    ReplyDelete
  3. all this DESPITE the powerful hagfish farming super PAC.

    ReplyDelete

Respectful disagreement encouraged.