It is utterly amazing to this monkey that you humans cannot grasp how utterly foolish the belief in evolution really is. Consider the Woodpecker. This bird’s design features are discussed in the wonderful article below by David Catchpoole of Creation Ministries. Surely it shreds any “theory of evolution” and testifies to the Almighty Creator. The latest Creation Magazine is out, this incredible magazine, $32 for 4 issues, is available at:

https://creation.com/magazines

Don’t leave home without it!

Gibber! Gibber!

Chugley

Woodpecker head-banging wonder

by David Catchpoole

Woodpeckers hammer wood with their bills. They drill holes in trees when foraging, or to excavate storage holes or cavity nests.

The pecking impact forces are huge. The woodpecker’s head suddenly comes to an abrupt halt when the beak hits the wood, resulting in deceleration forces of the order of 1,200 g (i.e. 1,200 times the force of gravity).¹ In stark contrast, just 300 g will leave a human concussed or with serious brain injury. Some woodpeckers might even be able to tolerate impact forces up to 6,000 g!² And this is repeated head-bashing—around 18 to 22 times per second³—yet with no sign of blackout or brain damage.

A major challenge confronting engineers has been the need for a new shock-absorbing system for protecting micro-devices, i.e. improving g-force tolerance for use in high-g environments. Amazed at the woodpecker’s head-banging resilience, a team of engineers investigated its “advanced shock-absorbing mechanism”.^1,4

With the help of x-ray computed tomography (CT) images of the woodpecker’s skeletal structures, the engineers highlighted the shock-absorbing capacities of:

• The beak made of elastic material
• The hyoid (muscles and tendons supporting the throat and tongue and reinforcing the head)
• A spongy bone specially located behind the beak
• A special skull bone containing spinal fluid

These features “stand in a row”, sequentially cushioning and dissipating the “mechanical excitations”, preventing brain injury.¹ Other researchers confirm that it is the combined effect of these features that confers protection, rather than any single factor.^5,6

Inspired by the woodpecker’s shock-absorbing spongy bone and hyoid, the engineers used the same principles with metal and elastic substances to design a shock-absorption system to protect commercial micro-devices.

When tested at 60,000 g, the woodpecker-inspired technology reduced the failure rate of micro-devices to just 0.7%, compared to 26.4% for conventional shock-absorption methods—a great design improvement.¹ These same principles from woodpecker anatomy could guide the design of more effective helmets and other protective headgear.⁵

Looks like engineers can recognize good design when they see it.⁷ So should we all (Romans 1:20).

References and notes

1. Yoon, S.-H. and Park, S., A mechanical analysis of woodpecker drumming and its application to shock-absorbing systems, Bioinspiration & Biomimetics 6:016003, 17 January 2011. Return to text.
2. Gibson, L., Woodpecker pecking: how woodpeckers avoid brain injury, Journal of Zoology 270(3):462-465, 2006. Return to text.