Drinking whiskey faster than water

January 30, 2018 5:47 AM

The Engineering of the Drinking Bird by Bill Hammack [SLYT]

Previously

posted by metaquarry (28 comments total)

There was an extended digression about the drinking bird on the Newton's Cradle episode of the Omnibus podcast.
posted by uncleozzy at 5:56 AM on January 30, 2018

It was a pleasant surprise to wake up and see a new Engineer Guy video in my YouTube notifications. I love how much he really enjoys the detailed exploration of how common, everyday objects work.
posted by mystyk at 6:22 AM on January 30, 2018 [4 favorites]

I always liked hand boilers better, although every last one I had as a kid broke because well duh, glassware and kids.
posted by Kyol at 6:40 AM on January 30, 2018

Thanks to the Simpsons I'll probably go my entire life thinking "It's DRINKING the WATER!" every time I see an animal (and sometimes humans) drink anything.
posted by The Card Cheat at 6:44 AM on January 30, 2018 [6 favorites]

OK but where does e come in?
posted by thelonius at 7:10 AM on January 30, 2018 [1 favorite]

This guy's voice. Damn. It may haunt my dreams. I'll have to dig in and see if it's familiar for a reason or if it's just compelling and interesting (a la David Attenborough but not really, you get what I mean) for other reasons.
posted by RolandOfEld at 7:25 AM on January 30, 2018 [2 favorites]

Oh I loved these as a kid. Sent this to my engineer dad who did a great job explaining it way back when.
posted by Miko at 7:27 AM on January 30, 2018 [1 favorite]

That's cool. And hot...
posted by jim in austin at 7:29 AM on January 30, 2018 [1 favorite]

And he did a Selectric video!!! My Hero!
posted by RolandOfEld at 7:31 AM on January 30, 2018 [1 favorite]

I'll have to dig in and see if it's familiar for a reason

Oddly he sorta reminded me of Rex Allen, most famous for narrating the original Charlotte's Web film. Sorry I can't find an example from that but that's what this laid-back, a little-husky voice reminds me of.
posted by Miko at 7:33 AM on January 30, 2018 [1 favorite]

Oddly he sorta reminded me of Rex Allen,

For some reason I'm coming up with Harry Morgan, the actor behind Col. Potter in M*A*S*H. That's probably wrong but lord knows I won't have any better luck associating it.
posted by RolandOfEld at 7:36 AM on January 30, 2018

"Next, let's see what happens if we use this whiskey..."

Always a good idea.

"The reason the bird drinks whiskey faster than water is because the rate of evaporation of the alcohol is greater than that of water."

Uh huh. Sure. I'll remember that excuse the next time I go out drinking.
posted by Lokheed at 7:50 AM on January 30, 2018 [11 favorites]

Drinking whiskey faster than water

Found my next tattoo idea.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 8:02 AM on January 30, 2018 [2 favorites]

I actually drink water faster than whiskey - I gulp water down, but a glass of good whiskey'll last me 20 or 30 minutes.
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:37 AM on January 30, 2018

I actually drink water faster than whiskey - I gulp water down, but a glass of good whiskey'll last me 20 or 30 minutes.

You must not be a very efficient heat engine.
posted by flamewise at 9:44 AM on January 30, 2018 [6 favorites]

As a kid, I discovered quite accidentally that, if you hold the bird’s head down long enough, it will break, spilling all the red liquid over your aunt’s kitchen counter.
posted by Thorzdad at 10:00 AM on January 30, 2018 [1 favorite]

This guy's voice. Damn. It may haunt my dreams. I'll have to dig in and see if it's familiar for a reason or if it's just compelling and interesting (a la David Attenborough but not really, you get what I mean) for other reasons.

He sounds incredibly like one of the guys who used to present shows in the 90s on A&E or the History Channel. Maybe Bill Kurtis?
posted by Copronymus at 10:10 AM on January 30, 2018

You must not be a very efficient heat engine.

I'm here to tell you that that is absolutely true.
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:41 AM on January 30, 2018 [3 favorites]

I used to do commentaries on public radio -- from time to time on Marketplace -- so maybe you've heard me there. Oddly, I watched the original Charlotte's web just last week (with my 3-year-old): I don't think I sound anything like Rex Allen -- in fact, I looked him up to find out WHO he was because the voice kinda haunted me. I have narrated an audiobook (my own), which is available free at www.engineerguy.com/airship. (You may listen to an audio version of this comment at https://clyp.it/k5l0h5qz)
posted by engineerguy at 11:10 AM on January 30, 2018 [33 favorites]

posted by engineerguy

What tha what. Hello and thanks for the help with the earworm!
posted by RolandOfEld at 12:04 PM on January 30, 2018

Quick, add "Metafilter's Own" to the tags.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 12:17 PM on January 30, 2018 [3 favorites]

I noticed at the end there were mentions of turbine, diesel and gas engines as related but wouldn't a Stirling engine be a more closely related relative?
posted by MiltonRandKalman at 12:33 PM on January 30, 2018

Thank you, engineerguy, for creating some of the best content on YouTube. Your videos do a great job of explaining how things work, without ever coming across as condescending, and without going into so much detail that it becomes boring. They're the perfect blend of informative and entertaining. Please, keep them coming!
posted by xedrik at 1:04 PM on January 30, 2018 [3 favorites]

Why would a Stirling engine be any more appropriate? Have I missed something? All of that I mentioned are heat engines of a sort -- as is Stirling, of course. I don't think the bird follows a Stirling cycle, or for that matter the cycles I mentioned.
posted by engineerguy at 1:05 PM on January 30, 2018

Sterling engines don't strike me as a good fit, since they don't involve a phase change in the working fluid. The liquid in a drinking bird condenses and evaporates, which has a big effect since the vapor inside the bird is at saturation pressure.

If you're interested in seeing something that uses the drinking bird's properties to perform work, look at the Minto Wheel but as far as converting heat flow into work it's not a stellar example.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 2:37 PM on January 30, 2018 [2 favorites]

Needs a hand slowly reaching from stage right to grab the bourbon whiskey.
posted by CynicalKnight at 2:39 PM on January 30, 2018

There was a strange movie where a Drinking Bird device stopped and turned it's head to squirt liquid at a guy. I think it's The Power.
posted by ovvl at 3:58 PM on January 30, 2018

If you're interested in seeing something that uses the drinking bird's properties to perform work, look at the Minto Wheel but as far as converting heat flow into work it's not a stellar example.

Thanks for that namedrop. It's now on my list of neat things that I wish worked better alongside the Icy Ball and SwampCoolers in High Humidity ClimatesTM.
Here's a cool write-up of a practical Minto Wheel that I just found. Very neat information therein, but nothing a fan of engineering/heat engines wouldn't expect really.
posted by RolandOfEld at 8:30 AM on February 1, 2018 [1 favorite]