With a polar vortex looming over the Midwest, it's a good time to stay inside. But if you have to go outside, keep in mind that walking on icy surfaces requires special attention to avoid slipping and falling.
Falls are the third-leading cause of unintentional deaths. With snow and ice affecting the North East for the next several days, it's good to have a plan to stay upright. And it's an easy plan, too: Walk like a penguin.
Does it look silly to waddle down the street? Absolutely. But give it a shot — penguins, after all, have a decent amount of experience holding their own on ice and might have a thing or two to teach us.
Keep your knees loose. Extend arms to the side to keep your balance and lower your gravity center. Keep your hands out of your pockets, so you can break your fall with your hands if you start to slip. Spreading your feet out slightly— like a penguin— while walking on ice increases your stability.
When we walk, our legs’ ability to support our weight is split mid-stride. To walk on ice, keep your center of gravity over your front leg. Take short steps or shuffle for stability.
If you fall backwards, make an effort to tuck your chin, so your head won’t hit the ground. Also, try to form a ball and relax the muscles. You will injure yourself less if you are relaxed. Also wearing a heavy, bulky coat will cushion you if you should fail.
The keys to the penguin walk are simple: Extend your arms (er, wings) out to your side, bend your knees, and shuffle side to side as you move forward (rather than taking big steps). All of this will help maintain your center of gravity in a treacherous climate — the type of environment that penguins have existed in for centuries.
A waddling gait happens because of weakness in your hip girdle and upper thigh muscles. To make up for the weakness, you sway from side to side and your hip drops with each step.
And, somewhere along the line, they started to waddle. The waddle is endearing, yes, but it also looks inefficient. If you asked a modern penguin to walk ten feet, it would burn twice as many calories doing so as another animal of similar size.
With tobogganing, penguins can move faster with no risk of falling. On horizontal ice, they slide around on their bellies, using their flippers and feet for propulsion, steering, and braking.
To walk on ice: Bend slightly and spread your feet out to lower and increase your center of gravity, take small steps or shu e, lean forward slightly and go slowly. In short, walk like a penguin.
Answer and Explanation: Penguins move by swimming, waddling and sliding. Although penguins are birds, they can't fly. Because of this, they don't have wings; instead, they have flippers.
Take short shuffling steps in very icy areas. Don't carry or swing heavy loads, such as large boxes, cases or purses that may cause you to lose your balance when you are walking. When walking, curl your toes under and walk as flat-footed as possible. Don't step on uneven surfaces.
The relative motion between the penguin and the ice block causes equal and opposite frictional forces: one from the penguin on the ice block and the other from the ice block on the penguin.
Learn how to Walk Like a Penguin (video)—walk slowly, take small steps, and point your toes out slightly to be more stable on icy paths. Keep your head up and don't lean forward. Keep your hands out of your pockets to help keep your balance. If you use a cane, you can buy an ice pick for the cane.
Well it turns out they can control the blood flow to their feet and they also have a system of blood vessels that reduces heat loss from their bodies. These both help them to keep their feet a few degrees above freezing. This also stops them sticking to the ice.
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