Do Wet Dogs Hold the Key to Better Washing Machines?

A group of scientists studying how animals, especially dogs, dry themselves off believes that the process could help humans understand how to make make more efficient washers and dryers.

Andrew Dickerson and a team from Georgia Institute of Technology used slow-motion cameras and x-rays to study how some members of the animal kingdom efficiently wash and dry themselves, and released an amazing video showing their findings:

From New Scientist:

How fast and how often the skin changed direction during shaking was responsible for water being thrown off the fur, with mice and rats having to shake much faster than larger animals such as bears. Surprisingly though, the animals didn't have to shake as fast as predicted in order to get dry.

Dickerson says the research has given the team "a few ideas that may potentially lead to better washing devices." It has other applications too: understanding how to spin drops in a controlled way is important for various manufacturing processes, such as spin-coating and painting. It could even lead to better hair products for dogs and humans, Dickerson says.