{"id":43761,"date":"2016-11-24T06:51:15","date_gmt":"2016-11-24T13:51:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/?p=43761"},"modified":"2016-11-24T10:57:58","modified_gmt":"2016-11-24T17:57:58","slug":"good-luck-with-the-furcula-today-everyone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2016\/11\/24\/good-luck-with-the-furcula-today-everyone\/","title":{"rendered":"Good Luck With The Furcula Today Everyone!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Furcula<\/em> – previously\u00a0known as\u00a0the “merrythought”…<\/p>\n

Pulling on the wishbone to see who gets the long\u00a0end when it breaks\u00a0and then\u00a0has their\u00a0fondest\u00a0wish granted has been a festive\u00a0holiday tradition for centuries. It came to us from the English in the 1600’s (at that time they called the wishbone the “merrythought”)\u00a0but the “magic” attributed to that oddly shaped bone came\u00a0to them\u00a0from the Romans who got it from the ancient Etruscans in Italy. Who doesn’t have fond memories of kids (and sometimes adults) squabbling over who gets a chance at the wishbone, since only two can participate?<\/p>\n

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\"furcula-b\"<\/p>\n

By I, Toony, CC BY-SA 3.0, https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/w\/index.php?curid=2321740<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The actual name of the wishbone is the furcula – seen in red in the stylized rendition of a bird’s skeleton above. It’s formed by the\u00a0fusion of the two clavicles (collarbones) in most birds and some dinosaur skeletons. In humans our clavicles are unfused.<\/p>\n

One of the primary functions (there are several) of the furcula in birds is to make flight more energy-efficient. The bone is incredibly flexible (as impatient\u00a0humans have learned when they try to break the wishbone before it has been dried and\u00a0rendered brittle) and that flexibility contributes to its function. When a bird’s wings are powered down in flight by the huge pectoralis muscle the ends of the\u00a0furcula are stretched apart which loads them with “spring energy”. Then when the wings begin the upstroke\u00a0the stored energy is transferred and helps to move them in an upward direction as the ends of the furcula return to their previous shape.<\/p>\n

It’s complicated – several muscles and tendons are involved but what an ingenious partial solution to the vexing problem of providing enough energy to power flight without requiring even larger muscles which would add weight and make flight even more energy consumptive. \u00a0The ends of the furcula\u00a0are stretched apart\u00a0by as much as 50%. They then contract during the upstroke\u00a0– acting like a spring and powering the upward movement of the wings.<\/p>\n

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\"northern-harrier-1804c-ron-dudley\"<\/p>\n

So the next time you’re admiring the power and grace of a bird in flight (such as this male Northern Harrier) keep in mind that the “wishbone” is partially responsible for their aerial magic. Evolution is a marvelous thing!<\/p>\n

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Ok, enough academics on this Thanksgiving morning. I hope each and every one of my readers has a wonderful and joyous holiday with family and friends and if you partake of the wishbone tradition may you get the long end of the bone and your fondest wish come true.<\/p>\n

As for me – yes, I’m having turkey for Thanksgiving dinner and I already know what I’m going to wish for if I win the tug\u00a0on the bone. During a wet and heavy snowstorm last night I heard a loud crash and simultaneously felt my house shudder and shake as if a vehicle had crashed into it. I got out of bed, dressed, grabbed a powerful\u00a0flashlight and went outside in the snow\u00a0to investigate and\u00a0my biggest fears were realized. A huge<\/em> branch from\u00a0my enormous elm tree broke off and crashed onto my\u00a0roof. That branch is\u00a0as large\u00a0as some mature trees.<\/p>\n

My wish\u00a0will be that there’s no significant damage to my roof. I won’t know until later today when it hopefully warms up enough to melt the snow up there so I can safely climb up on the roof and investigate. Wish me luck…<\/p>\n

Ron<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Furcula – previously known as the “merrythought”…<\/p>\n

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