Zirealism

Nature is malevolent, especially the furry bits.

Wouldn't the nails fall head onwards, the head being the flatenned heavy end? And wouldn't that be a bit blunt to cause any lasting damage? I suppose from the height of a tree it would. Ok, I can get that now.

Maybe the head of the nail would act like the fletching on an arrow.

The head of the nail is un-aerodynamic. It would create wind resistance and move it around. Fletching channels the air into keeping the arrow straight.

Squirrels and nails is funny, squirrels and anvils is funnier.

Well, the point of the nail is more aerodynamic, and the head is less; therefore, ad hoc post propter hoc, the unaerodynamic end would proceed more slowly and the point more rapidly, the nail becoming greatly elongated as it approached the speed of light. The other question being, if both squirrels fell out of the tree at the same time, which one would hit the man first? Also, if the timing is just right, would it be possible to nail the acorn to the gent's dome?

This is creepy. I was standing under an oak tree this morning, and an acorn fell out right next to where I was standing. Of course I went looking for the offending squirrel...

Nail Dynamics, the often forgotten science of dropping nails. In experiments of dropping nails, it can be seen that it can be assumed that no assumption can be made about how the nail willf all as the number of factors that dictate its decent are numerous and imposible to realise.

I put to you that these squirrels are just being a little boistrous. like small scouse kids who shake the bars on your windows, these squirrels are chucking things at people, just because they find it amusing and not because they expect it to cause any harm. Using nails on the other hand raises the stakes, not because it will do any damage but it could because a nail is an inherantly dangerous object. you can be certain when they get caught by their mothers doing this they will get a hiding that will make them see god, of course thats only if squirrels keep to good old family values, rather than devolving the responsibilty onto the state without giving them nessecary power, n which case a squirrel police man will be able to come along and blow his whistle at the kids until they run away and go home.

Being decidely dexterous squirrels, they are going to wing them nails like darts.

This cartoon reminds me of the pigeons who line the boughs of the tree I must walk under to get to the building I work in. I think that the reason people feed pigeons is to keep them on the ground.

Feed pigeons to keep em on the ground, what a good idea, its a perfect analogy of the way the human mind thinks, we'll use this short term solution that will solve the problem for us right now, but will cause other people problems in the future.

Did it ever occur that the fact is pigeons don't produce excrement without first eating? And if they aren't fed they won't hang around, more importantly if they are dead then everyones happy.
Pigeons = flying rats.

Can you tell i don't like pigeons?

When the nail approaches the speed of light it wouldn't become elongated, but rather contract so much that it's entire dynamics would change.
At this point, the wind resistance factor would cause it to cange which way it was falling, and contraction would then happen in this direction too. Ultimately, it will morph into a spherical shape, and at the moment of impact the sudden jolt will cause the nail to become more ovular than anything.

And that's where acorns come from.


Strega

Wow but that would assume that first the tree was high enough that when falling the nail would have enough time to accelerate near to the speed of light. It would assume that firstly no atmosphere would exist as terminal velocity would mean it wouldn't be able to acelerate any faster. Then it would have to have atmosphere to have wind resistance so it would change the way it was falling but I would image a nail travelling at close to the speed of light hitting atmoshpere wouldn't be a nail for much longer. But if it did manage to actually hit the guy would it reall deform into a ovoid? I think we are using too much newtonian with relativistic models here.

Well I'm off to accelerate nails to near light speed and fire them into the atmoshere.

Shut it.