Snake slips show slither secret

[minidog]

simple physics experiment has shed light on slithering - the most common type of motion used by snakes.

Rather than pushing off nearby obstacles, snakes exploit the fact that their scales have different "grip" in different directions
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8091685.stm

 

[Boobinator]

Interesting. I always figured they moved similar to worms, who swell up segment per segment and "pour" forward like a pulse - larvae move like that too. But snakes are reptiles and don't have the segments to pump up like that, so that never really made any sense in the first place

I think someone once said that human walking is just a series of controlled falls, which is pretty accurate. We fall forward and catch the fall with either leg in a very coordinated manner.