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Batman needs to work on his aerodynamics

 
Tampa Bay Times
Published July 11, 2012

Batman needs to work on his aerodynamics

You don't want to try this at home. Student physicists at the University of Leicester in England wanted to know if Batman really could fly using just his cape. Yes. But he would suffer serious injuries when trying to land, a study of the aerodynamics of his winged attire has concluded, the London Daily Telegraph reported. The students tested whether the 15-foot wingspan of Batman's special rigid cape — about half that of some hang gliders — would be enough to keep him airborne over Gotham City. If Batman jumped from a building 492 feet high, the team discovered, he could glide a distance of around 1,148 feet. But his velocity would increase to about 68 mph as he descended before reaching a steady 50 mph as he approached street level — a speed too great for him to survive without serious injury. Then again, he is a superhero, so who knows? The cape crusader returns to cinemas on July 20 in the Dark Knight Rises.

Dumb criminals I

So, blame blinds or ineptitude?

Thomas Molina thought he would visit Central New Mexico Community College in Albuquerque and collect some computers. Not his, but the college's. But Molina, 38, got tangled in window blinds and the police arrived to get him out after receiving a call on Sunday, according to KRQE-TV. He told police that he was looking for computer hardware.

Dumb criminals II

Part one worked, but not part two

Angela Winters Hardman of Sandy, Utah, saw a beautiful, $4,000 ring at Macy's and asked to try it on. Then she swallowed it. At the same time, she handed an employee a similar but bogus ring. Police later watched surveillance video and, aha, spotted the ruse as it unfolded in May. When they caught up with Hardman, she had passed the ring through her system and pawned it for $600. She's facing charges of theft.

New French delight

A glass of wine with that hay?

In France, some cows are enjoying up to two bottles of high quality wine every day. The result: a new label of exceptionally succulent meat that is being championed by some of the best restaurants in Paris, according to the London Daily Telegraph. The newspaper reported that after an experiment with three cows, other animals are now getting a mix of grapes and water, followed by the fine wine. "The cattle loved what was on the menu and drank it with relish," said Claude Chaballier, owner of the farm where the experiment started last year.

Compiled from Times wire services and other sources