How Fast Does An Elephant Pee?
Hold It Joachim Huber via Wikimedia Commons David Hu wanted to know what it'd be like to change an elephant's diaper. Hu, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering and biology at the Georgia Institute of Technology, has two toddlers, so he's been doing his fair share of diaper work in the past few years. Like any curious teacher would, he turned it into a question for his fluid mechanics class: How long would it take to empty an elephant's bladder, based on the bladder and urethra dimensions of that animal? A couple of his more enthusiastic undergrads grabbed a high speed camera, went to the zoo and measured the process in real life. Hopefully, no one ever has to change an elephant's diaper, because man, would that be heavy. An elephant can urinate about 42.3 gallons in one go. Perhaps taking "a leak" isn't...