According to the research, “a wet animal could spend 20% or more of it’s daily food energy to evaporate water in its fur, if it cannot shake.” Therefore, it’s super important to get dry! Earth Unplugged’s Sam and Simon slow down this phenomenon of mammals shaking to get dry — super slow-mo style — in this sixth episode by BBC Earth Productions.

via Laughing Squid.

Kids play with wind up toys in slow motion.

via The Curious Brain.

Because doing physics in space can produce some rarely-seen results, NASA astronaut Don Pettit conducted experiments on video while aboard the International Space Station in 2011/12. In this Science Off the Sphere video, he pops balloons in microgravity. Space Balloonacy!

So here’s the test — think about what you think will happen in this scenario. Will the water stay exactly where it was pre-pop, or will it move? If you think it will move, why would it move?

There are Science Off the Sphere videos galore at PhysicsCentral.com.

via Mental Floss.

As you may have heard, the asteroid 2012 DA14 silently glided past Earth on Friday, Feb. 15, 2013. Observations using radar have shown it to be an elongated rock about 20 x 40 meters (65 x 130 feet) in size… 

It still didn’t get very bright; it was invisible to the naked eye. But with digital cameras and dark skies, snapping pictures of it was a matter of knowing where to aim, something photographer Colin Legg knows very well. From Perth, Australia, he captured this lovely time-lapse video of the asteroid moving past Earth right at the time of closest approach, 19:24 UTC. And he captured more than just DA14; there are some other surprises in the video, too. Make sure to set it to full-screen.

You can see DA14 sliding through the video from top to bottom on the left side of the frame. But right after the video starts, a meteor plummets through the field of view, leaving behind what’s called a persistent train—a trail of vaporized rock that can glow for several minutes. 

From Slate’s Bad Astronomy.

Dry Ice and bubbles are nothing new, but it doesn’t get old too quickly either, especially when it looks great (cue the music and backlighting) and is a fun DIY.

You’ll need Dawn Dish Detergent (5 tablespoons), Glycerin (95%, 4 tablespoons), Distilled Water (1 cup), a bowl, a 100% cotton cloth strip, some dry ice (2 or 3lbs) and thick gloves for handling the dry ice (since dry ice will burn skin). Now watch!

Previous related DIY links: A dry ice and bubbles tutorial + how to handle dry ice safely.

Thanks, @mamagotcha.

Update: It’s Okay to Be Smart explains the science behind the fun!