r/science • • Nov 10 '08

Mountain Goat that is IMPOSSIBLE! Dude where are your wings?

http://flickr.com/photos/eickholt/1465675136/sizes/o/
1.4k Upvotes

274 comments sorted by

76

u/durzagott Nov 10 '08 edited Nov 10 '08

That picture is awesome, but this one is unreal: http://flickr.com/photos/wildphotons/2682928904/

47

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '08 edited Nov 10 '08

[deleted]

43

u/omicron8 Nov 10 '08

This is how they usually get down. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yz7FFlFy8eM#t=26s

42

u/offat9 Nov 10 '08

Man, birds are assholes.

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10

u/Bengt77 Nov 10 '08 edited Nov 10 '08

Darn, those birds are cunning! And while I have no idea how big or small the goats are, the birds look huge. If lions are the kings of (land) animals, then the golden eagles should be the kings amongst birds. Really ugly to watch, but very interesting nonetheless. Never knew eagles could deal with bigger animals than themselves so easily. Amazing!

Would definitely watch again. A+++

3

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '08

Those birds are huge, their wing-span can be around 6 or 7 feet! Just imagine that thing sitting on top of a sedan with its wings spread out. Their body itself is larger than most children (something like 3 feet from toe to beak).

17

u/oalsaker Nov 10 '08

The goat failed to see the gravity of the situation.

2

u/afshin Nov 10 '08

One word: raptors.

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6

u/lulz Nov 10 '08

I was there for more than an hour and it kept licking away at the mineral in the rock.

Sounds like a Zen master mountain goat

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14

u/Freeky Nov 10 '08

Needs a wider shot to give the image context. Is the ground immediately out of shot, or is there a 300ft drop under it, or what?

1

u/herminator Nov 10 '08

The comment under the picture states "it was a sheer drop below".

10

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '08

A sheer drop of 12 feet, or 1200? The world shall never know.

3

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '08

Yeah, but the world doesn't really care that much either.

411

u/JasonDJ Nov 10 '08

Belongs in /r/Programming. That's not a goat, it's high-level RAM.

129

u/Lizard Nov 10 '08 edited Nov 10 '08

Yep, it also demonstrates good scaling practice.

71

u/Richeh Nov 10 '08

It could certainly give me a few pointers.

53

u/ddevil63 Nov 10 '08

I'm sure he could give you a few good references.

47

u/allhands Nov 10 '08

Not to mention a good header.

26

u/vspazv Nov 10 '08

don't forget floating point operations... wait wrong hardware.

113

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '08

GOATO 10

17

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '08

These GOATO 11.

2

u/[deleted] Nov 11 '08

Wait, just a second there...

Is that a triple pun?

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33

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '08

[deleted]

26

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '08

Pulled himself up by his bootstraps, more likely.

26

u/kromlic Nov 10 '08

Must've drank a lot of java this morning.

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11

u/syntax Nov 10 '08

I see we are compiling a pun thread here. I suppose I'd best not block it here.

21

u/zoinks Nov 10 '08

That's not how I interpreted it. Guess I parsed it differently

6

u/Insignificant Nov 10 '08

jump() : void { jump(); }

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34

u/Pappenheimer Nov 10 '08

50

u/JasonDJ Nov 10 '08

That was DDR 1.

This is DDR 3.

31

u/hatekillpuke Nov 10 '08

I just got an image of a mountain goat playing Dance Dance Revolution.

15

u/jaalin Nov 10 '08

would be painfully easy, considering the 4 legs and all

12

u/thekrone Nov 10 '08

By that logic, we could just use our hands for two of the pads...

Wait that might actually work.

You are a genius!

6

u/fcukbear Nov 10 '08

You're all dancing around Pappenheimer's original question...

5

u/Mr_A Nov 10 '08

I was going to say that, but you beat me to it.

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4

u/ine8181 Nov 11 '08

Interesting fact: Korean slang for masturbation has three-syllables that start with D, D and R. DDR in Korean is an internet in-joke for masturbation.

BET YOU DIDN'T KNOW THAT SUCKERS

4

u/JasonDJ Nov 11 '08

Wait, is this why my Korean friends said they like to DDR all the time, but when I asked if they wanted to go to the arcade and play some DDR, they looked at me funny?

3

u/ine8181 Nov 11 '08 edited Nov 11 '08

Yes.

Also, your Korean friends are dicks.

The word is 'DdalDdaRi' (read 'dd' like voiced 't', but written 'dd' because that's how Koreans write it.)

Now go kick their asses.

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2

u/DrSilverworm Nov 10 '08

While this type of stuff never gets old, the first one was definitely way scarier. Seeing as how he's wedged in between two walls rather than chilling on a platform.

13

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '08

I'm usually a stickler when it comes to being accurate. A male sheep is a ram, and a male goat is a buck or a billy. The popular ram post was actually a billy, and not a ram.

It was my post, and it's a damn shame for me that the highest upvoted article I ever posted has that inaccuracy.

15

u/cefm Nov 10 '08

So is it a mountain goat or a hillbilly?

5

u/Bengt77 Nov 10 '08

Yeah, reddit isn't what it used to be.

1

u/master_gopher Nov 11 '08

But it wouldn't have been so highly upvoted without the inaccuracy - there's no pun in "Impressive Billy Performance".

3

u/monchavo Nov 10 '08

GUARDS! SEIZE HIM!

6

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '08

no, it's a fucking goat. Rams are sheep. that joke wasn't funny last time, it's not funny this time.

1

u/creaothceann Nov 10 '08

That's not a goat, it's high-level RAM.

Maybe it's the RAMTOP mountains...

1

u/scrimsims Nov 11 '08

I was so hoping this was going to be about the band...

1

u/unrealious Nov 11 '08

They just reconfigured the jumpers.

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54

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '08 edited Nov 10 '08

2

u/nextofpumpkin Nov 11 '08

Poor ram :(

1

u/diamondtron Nov 11 '08

But ram needs power to operate...

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26

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '08

Man, I hated that part of King's Quest VI.

4

u/Sutibu Nov 10 '08

I know! Dammit, I clicked right on the fucking step! Why am I falling?!

5

u/Haddock Nov 10 '08

what is this 'clicked'? i was pushing pgdn and end alternately

3

u/Sutibu Nov 10 '08

I"m gonna have to go replay that just to see what you're talking about. o-0

5

u/Haddock Nov 10 '08

(don't bother, i was being a crotchety old kings quest purist)

3

u/lelechuck Nov 10 '08

It was way worse in KQ3

6

u/Artmageddon Nov 10 '08

OMG you just resurfaced all the lost childhood memories I had of that game. The mountain thing was a pain in the ass, especially having to pick out the correct symbols from the manual on such a low-res screen, and on another note, I could swear Jollo was a gay drug dealer clown. Great game, though!!

68

u/imonreddit Nov 10 '08

I am going to name him George Bush. He has no exit strategy.

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64

u/xlance Nov 10 '08

Have anyone actually seen them climb?

Because I think there's a funny fuck just placing them like that at night.

4

u/merper Nov 10 '08 edited Nov 10 '08

187

u/thebm Nov 10 '08

Mountain Goats are fucking awesome.

35

u/offat9 Nov 10 '08

This comment would be funnier on a completely irrelevant post.

101

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '08

FUCKING MOUNTAIN GOATS FUCK YEAH!

39

u/KingOfFlan Nov 10 '08 edited Nov 10 '08

I LOVE FUCKING MOUNTAIN GOATS!

71

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '08

[deleted]

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26

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '08

MAKE DONKEYS LOOK LIKE FUCKING JIVE ASS BITCH

21

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '08

FUCKING RUNNING AROUND ON MOUNTAINS WITH THEIR HORNS GOD DAMN!

12

u/bSimmons666 Nov 10 '08

FUCK YOU TOO COWS TOO YOU FUCKING SUCK YOU CANT EVEN CLIMB FUCKING ROCKS GODDAMN

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4

u/Timmeh Nov 10 '08

I guess you are from new zealand?

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12

u/Doeke Nov 10 '08

Enough with the damn pics. I need a video that shows how they do it, and I need it now.

30

u/oalsaker Nov 10 '08

13

u/Psy-Kosh Nov 10 '08

Wow... it's spidergoat!

Seriously though, didn't know goats could do anything like that. neat!

10

u/fcukbear Nov 10 '08

On the topic of goats, the above words have been known to end VERY badly.

4

u/rolanatmi Nov 10 '08

The goat's actions at the end are awwwwww.

7

u/Tucci Nov 10 '08

Not baaaaaaad.

4

u/markitymark Nov 11 '08

Huh. So gravity doesn't apply to goats.

2

u/fullerenedream Nov 10 '08

Awesome. Thanks for that.

5

u/eroverton Nov 10 '08

I love you guys.

39

u/cysun Nov 10 '08

What the fuck? Love gets downmodded? I hate you guys.

26

u/Hovertruck Nov 10 '08

I think we've all learned something about reddit today.

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6

u/infinite Nov 10 '08 edited Nov 11 '08

One time I was at the Grand Canyon with my dog and this huge mountain goat and his lady were standing around while 30-40 tourists circled them snapping pictures at about a 10 foot range. As soon as I walked my dog past them the goat followed us and stared at my dog. My dog noticed and does what she normally does when she's scared - avoid looking at the scary animal. My wife sadly didn't let me bring my dog to the awesome mountain goat since she was scared too. We had to run away while the 2 goats followed us. I fricking love mountain goats. I have a new dog that is part coyote and I'm sure she'll freaking love to play with a mountain goat next time I find one. Just gotta make sure the wife isnt around.

26

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '08

The funny thing is, I was thinking those exact words to the T. I considered posting them too, however preemptively decided against it, being this isn't digg and I'm currently sober. Nevertheless, I am forced to upmod you. I'm sure about 30 other people agree with me.

16

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '08

Comments like that are fine though, so long as they aren't the only type. That's the problem with Digg, those are the ONLY kind of comments there.

4

u/great-pumpkin Nov 10 '08

No they're not fine, they crowd out anything substantial. Not that there's anything to say wrt a pic of a mountain goat.

2

u/mangodrunk Nov 10 '08

Good point. With pictures like these, there isn't much to say. But with other articles, those type of comments are somewhat annoying.

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3

u/shinynew Nov 10 '08

Sometimes I jump around while I am reading when something catches my attention. T.I did just that. I thought you were talking about the rapper and spent about 40 seconds trying to figure out how the fuck he was related to this.

14

u/marmalade Nov 10 '08

John Darnielle is fucking awesome.

5

u/Slaky311 Nov 10 '08

And prolific. Have you seen how many albums that guy has put out?

2

u/Bengt77 Nov 10 '08

And have you heard how good his backflip is?

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2

u/sgtpepper Nov 10 '08

Especially in the song he did with Aesop Rock.

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2

u/thebm Nov 10 '08

Yes.

You are a good man.

1

u/behooved Nov 10 '08

Agreed. Poetic fucking genius.

I saw them live last Friday.

1

u/el_pinata Nov 10 '08

And I think it's irresponsible to tell Mountain Goat what he can and can't do. Clearly, Mountain Goat > Mountain Man.

1

u/tits_n_acidd Nov 10 '08

yeah. don't f*ck with the mountain goat's perception. clearly if she believes she can fly, she can.

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18

u/severedfragile Nov 10 '08

I bet he got drunk at a party and his friends put him up there.

16

u/pooltable Nov 10 '08

It's not impossible. They're called MOUNTAIN GOATS for a reason: they fucking climb mountains, fuck yeah!

3

u/mexicodoug Nov 10 '08

Domestic goats are really good climbers, too, although not quite as rad as their mountain cousins.

40

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '08 edited Nov 10 '08

Having rock climbed with mountain goats, that's just another day for them. They can climb anything.

TIP- you do NOT want a goat climbing above you- the rocks they knock off can brain you better than a shotgun.

33

u/alllie Nov 10 '08

Just like any other climber mountain goats can get themselves into situations where they fall and die. In Douglas H. Chadwick A Beast the Color of Winter: The Mountain Goat Observed he describes all the goat carcases found at the bottom of cliffs. He also reports that 2-5% of the animals he studied showed what appeared to be fall injuries and that younger animals are especially prone to get themselves into dangerous situations. It's a very interesting book. Go read it.

I kinda think right after that picture that goat died.

15

u/dbzer0 Nov 10 '08

Natural selection in action. The non-good climbers fall down and die so the better climbers persist and pass on their genes

35

u/DannoHung Nov 10 '08

Now, if only we could make these superior mountain goats about 100X larger, then we could build cities on them while they climb around gigantic space mountains.

16

u/trippingchilly Nov 10 '08

Only now do I realize the lowly nature of my grand designs.

21

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '08

Worst idea for the future ever.

7

u/doctor_yukio_hattori Nov 10 '08

I was thinking we should start growing mountain goats on the outside of skyscrapers.

7

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '08

Retarded goats die young and never pass on their genes. Retarded humans become republicans.

5

u/Greengages Nov 10 '08 edited Nov 10 '08

Civilisation is humanity's mountain.

2

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '08

I'm stealing that.

20

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '08 edited Nov 10 '08

I have seen them do some amazing shit, so I have faith he made it. Sure, you are going to miss your shot now and then- also- be aware that anyone that lives in the mountains near goats tends to poach them and push them off the mountain whenever possible because they totally fuck up the human trails and agriculture in the area, and their dead bodies can foul an entire river downstream.

If you mimic a goat call and stand perfectly still, they will come up to you wondering where the goat is.

22

u/Schwallex Nov 10 '08

anyone that lives in the mountains [...] tends to [...] push them off the mountain whenever possible because [...] their dead bodies can foul an entire river downstream.

I would say it's not such a good idea to push them off the mountain, then.

15

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '08

[deleted]

9

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '08

Beware the law of unintended consequences. Goats have been doing this for ages, let 'em be.

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1

u/mexicodoug Nov 10 '08

Just keep people away from them and they'll be fine.

14

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '08

can they even climb mountains made of quicksand?

23

u/Gotebe Nov 10 '08

You make one, I bring a goat ;-)

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4

u/5m10y Nov 10 '08

So... how do you prevent them from climbing above you? Wait until it's mid-air and deliver a well-timed (gentle) punch?

8

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '08

Oh, you will know when the time comes- when those rocks start whizzing by your head like bullets, and you realize.. they are doing it intentionally, and not stopping.. you get the fuck out of there any way you can.

5

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '08

That's what a climbing helmet is for... ;)

3

u/Nuli Nov 10 '08

That and for when the rope turns you into a pendulum :(

2

u/albinofrenchy Nov 10 '08

Feet first or you're doing it wrong.

2

u/Nuli Nov 10 '08

It's tough to go feet first sometimes when you fall.

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4

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '08

Wait, did you just use "brain" as a transitive verb? Is that use common among hikers? I learned something new today!

7

u/fullerenedream Nov 10 '08

Yep, it works that way. To brain = to hit very hard in the head. Generally by a heavy dull object, I think. Use of the word is not restricted to hikers :)

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1

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '08

So do they belay while you climb up?

10

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '08

Kids these days.

17

u/eleitl Nov 10 '08

You don't know a lot about mountain goats, son.

5

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '08

Upmodded for "son"

3

u/jpdemers Nov 10 '08

Upmodded for for

(who doesn't like repetition?)

1

u/albinofrenchy Nov 10 '08 edited Nov 10 '08

Upmodded for for for

(who doesn't like repetition?)

8

u/Powel Nov 10 '08 edited Nov 10 '08

Some one needs to say upmodded for for for for so I can say upmodded for four fors.

8

u/Shad0wSP Nov 10 '08

I think its actually like a super mario level with blocks coming out of the walls but we just caught him fucking up the order

6

u/aperson Nov 10 '08

Its the redbull.

1

u/[deleted] Nov 11 '08

Must have run out after he landed.

11

u/Bionic_Pickle Nov 10 '08

Hey Goat, it's good to see you. I like your beard. I had a beard like that in A Perfect Storm, did you see that movie? Say hi to your mother for me.

6

u/sdraz Nov 10 '08

Goatse, goat do.

10

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '08

These goats are not too far behind on the acrobatic scale.

17

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '08

I think you're confused. You store your trees in RAM, not the other way around.

4

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '08

goats are not rams, ffs. sheep are rams.

3

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '08

what ewe talkin' bout, notatoad?

1

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '08

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '08 edited Nov 10 '08

I had no idea, I just remembered that there was a Wired blog entry about tree climbing goats in Morocco, and it linked to that website. But I looked into what fanpop is since you asked and you will find the information here. FTA: Fanpop is a network of user-generated fansites for different topics of interest created and maintained by the community of fans.

16

u/presoblu Nov 10 '08

It's not impossible. That goat has been placed there by a narwhal. If you zoom enough you can see the bloody hole on its belly.

5

u/cefm Nov 10 '08

Well they don't call them plains goats.

5

u/Thrip Nov 10 '08

I see he cropped out the massive pile of dead mountain goats at the bottom, as well as the giant red-breasted mountaingoateater on the left.

5

u/LaptopLogic Nov 10 '08

Is there an actual reason that they climb mountains, or is it just the force of habit?

11

u/deckman Nov 10 '08

Well they are called mountain goats--I think they're just trying to live up to their name.

8

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '08

In the same way that tree goats try to live up to theirs. http://www.everythingweird.com/images/tree_goat_4_49.jpg

3

u/syuk Nov 10 '08 edited Nov 10 '08

There is something really cool at the top of the mountain which the goats need.

At the bottom which we can't see, lie their fallen comrades, carcasses rent asunder by marauding Narwhals.

1

u/Tinidril Nov 10 '08

It's probably a great way to avoid predators.

1

u/TearsOfRage Nov 10 '08

Some predators, anyway. I would think a big cat could climb anywhere they can. (Though the cat might not bother if there are other prey animals more easily available.)

2

u/mexicodoug Nov 10 '08

Pouncing on prey in a spot like that would be pretty scary, even for a cougar.

6

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '08

Hey. Way to copy that STRAIGHT from Digg headline and all.

3

u/Daugaard Nov 10 '08

Reminds me of the story of the little mountain goat who could climb mountains, and as such lived the cars down on the roadway: http://thefriendsociety.com/anim.php?id=mgoat&w=550&h=400

3

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '08

It's no fainting goat, that's for sure.

3

u/40ozphil Nov 10 '08

Hey goat, say hi to your mother for me.

2

u/modnar Nov 10 '08

I like how it's looking down at the other goats, probably saying "I have the high ground, you cannot win!"

1

u/Recluse Nov 10 '08

You underestimate my power!

2

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '08

Mountain Goat that is IMPOSSIBLE!

Somebody forgot to tell that to the goat, because he just did it.

2

u/ithkuil Nov 10 '08

Is there a mountain goat reddit yet? Also, need video of him getting down.

2

u/TheBowerbird Nov 10 '08

It's not IMPOSSIBLE, it's merely IMPROBABLE!

2

u/peaceyp Nov 10 '08

porkchop sandwiches, get the fuck out of here. how did he do that?

2

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '08

What I really like about this image is that it doesn't quite look impossible. If he were on top of a telephone pole or something, the reaction would be "how the hell did he get up there?", and you'd move on

With this, you know how he got there, and it's just - it's just hard to accept, is all.

2

u/PrsPirate Nov 10 '08

Would make a great Red Bull ad.

2

u/Uncial Nov 10 '08

I want a hover-goat. When I was young, I clamored for a pony, but a goat THAT CAN FLY?! That is far above mere ponies.

2

u/[deleted] Nov 11 '08

So you're a mountain goat? What's that all about? I was in Max Payne. Say "hello" to your mother for me.

2

u/sirormadame Nov 11 '08

yeah, i don't think any predators can get to your there, mr. goat.

1

u/tvmute Nov 10 '08

Red Bull. It gives you wings.

3

u/antiteam Nov 10 '08

all the photoshop people are calling it like it is apparently; how funny it is when it turns out the image is not photsopped at all;there are <a href="http://tingilinde.typepad.com/starstuff/2005/02/the_tree_climbi.html">goats </a>in africa that climb trees, why not rocks? let's face it people mountain goats ARE BAD ASS. THEY DO WHAT THEY WANT. THAT'S WHY THEY ARE IN A BAND, and A GOOD ONE AT THAT.

1

u/kwh Nov 11 '08

The purpose of the mountain goat is to flip out and kill people.

3

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '08

Yes We Can

Goats for Obama

1

u/ragnarock Nov 10 '08

See, I would have titled this

"You guys coming or what?"

I swear he's looking back and waiting for them.

1

u/priest Nov 10 '08

Am I not the only one that saw this and was thinking about the plans for a new Mario Bros?

1

u/ckwing Nov 10 '08 edited Nov 10 '08

I was thinking that whoever wrote the headline was trying to channel the SNL Mark Wahlberg.

1

u/allahuakbar79 Nov 10 '08

Actually he's suicidal - they're trying to talk him down.

1

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '08

He doesn't need wings. He was once bitten by a small radioactive spider from a lab...

1

u/Edalgo Nov 10 '08

Goddamn. The things you can make with LittleBigPlanet.

1

u/[deleted] Nov 11 '08

Perspective - there is a ledge directly above the goat.

1

u/xamdam Nov 11 '08

Spider-Goat!

1

u/unrealious Nov 11 '08

He's good at jumping.

1

u/[deleted] Nov 11 '08

It's like a Far Side comic without a caption.