this post was submitted on
1,817 points (55% like it)
9,043 up votes 7,226 down votes
shortlink:

funny

subscribe2,684,726 readers

8,189 users here now

Results of the facebook poll

Reminder: Political posts are not permitted in /r/funny. Try /r/PoliticalHumor instead!

NEW! No gore or porn (including sexually graphic images). Other NSFW content must be tagged as such

Welcome to r/Funny:

You may only post if you are funny.

Please No:

  • posts with their sole purpose being to communicate with another redditor. Click for an Example.

  • Screenshots of reddit comment threads. Post a link with context to /r/bestof or /r/defaultgems if from a default subreddit instead.

  • Posts for the specific point of it being your reddit birthday.

  • Politics - This includes the 2012 Presidential candidates or bills in congress. Try /r/politicalhumor instead.

  • Rage comics - Go to /r/fffffffuuuuuuuuuuuu instead.

  • Memes - Go to /r/AdviceAnimals or /r/Memes instead.

  • Demotivational posters - Go to /r/Demotivational instead.

  • Pictures of just text - Make a self post instead.

  • DAE posts - Go to /r/doesanybodyelse

  • eCards - the poll result was 55.02% in favor of removal. Please submit eCards to /r/ecards

  • URL shorteners - No link shorteners (or HugeURL) in either post links or comments. They will be deleted regardless of intent.

Rehosted webcomics will be removed. Please submit a link to the original comic's site and preferably an imgur link in the comments. Do not post a link to the comic image, it must be linked to the page of the comic. (*) (*)

Need more? Check out:

Still need more? See Reddit's best / worst and offensive joke collections (warning: some of those jokes are offensive / nsfw!).

Please DO NOT post personal information. This includes anything hosted on Facebook's servers, as they can be traced to the original account holder.

If your submission appears to be banned, please don't just delete it as that makes the filter hate you! Instead please send us a message with a link to the post. We'll unban it and it should get better. Please allow 10 minutes for the post to appear before messaging moderators

The moderators of /r/funny reserve the right to moderate posts and comments at their discretion, with regard to their perception of the suitability of said posts and comments for this subreddit. Thank you for your understanding.

CSS - BritishEnglishPolice ©2011

a community for
to anything interesting: news article, blog entry, video, picture...
message the moderators

MODERATORS

reddit is a source for what's new and popular online. vote on links that you like or dislike and help decide what's popular, or submit your own! learn more ›

1816
1817

Failure to Launch (imgur.com)

submitted ago by troll-for-life

all 139 comments
sorted by:
best
best
top
new
hot
controversial
old

[–]MrSyster 188 points189 points ago

He was powering the escalator

[–]jonathanrdt 71 points72 points ago

So the escalators of my experience use invisible pigeons?

No wait that's stupid. Of course they are inside the escalator.

[–]Battletooth 43 points44 points ago

Actually, all the escalators in a city are linked to each other. When one moves, they all move. This way they only need one master escalator with a pigeon in the whole city. You probably just haven't seen the master escalator, that's all.

Psh... Pigeons inside the machine. That's funny.

Edit: somehow, I typed city in a funny way that my phone corrected it to "org".

[–]Dimeron 7 points8 points ago

So escalators are macroscopic sub atomic particles that have gone through quantum entanglement?

[–]Battletooth 10 points11 points ago

That's the fancy way of saying it...

But yes.

Don't forget the part about it being powered by a single pigeon, though. That's the important part.

[–]asherrd 0 points1 point ago

No, there is a series of gears and cogs and belts and whatnot underneath the sewer system. Just above the mole people.

[–]majortato 3 points4 points ago

You would need a giant pigeon for that.....perhaps: http://imgur.com/gallery/iTj1f

[–]doomgiver98 0 points1 point ago

I don't even need to click on the to know what it is. However, I did anyway because it's amusing.

[–]Thefriendlyfaceplant 1 point2 points ago

Amnesia: A machine for pigeons

[–]benihana 1 point2 points ago

No no no, only people who have witnessed death can see the pigeon. It's kind of a weird contrived explanation that doesn't make sense but since it's a minor thing we don't really worry about it.

[–]inquirewue 2 points3 points ago

http://imgdump.me/fP57Zz.jpg

[–]safariplanet 9 points10 points ago

from one bird to another: chill the fuck out

[–]Lurk3r_ 0 points1 point ago

That bird is eyeing some motherfucker up, don't mess with it

[–]titpuncher 21 points22 points ago

The poor mans treadmill

[–]blahblehbloo -3 points-2 points ago

And plank machine.

[–]Zeldukes 42 points43 points ago

An airplane can take off from a treadmill. Apparently a pigeon cannot. Or this one just doesn't want to.

[–]fluxaxion 47 points48 points ago

An airplane has wheels. The pigeon does not have wheels and thus as it steps it's being pulled back as well.

[–]GrinningPariah 40 points41 points ago

The pigeon does not have wheels

SINCE WHEN

[–]Gravyness 5 points6 points ago

HE'S TRYING TO FOOL US!

[–]synicalx1 6 points7 points ago

Don't forget pigeons are also retarded, so that was probably contributing to the situation as well

[–]firefae_ignis -1 points0 points ago

The reason the plane can take off of the treadmill is because the propellors still push air under the wings. The wheels cause friction just like the pigeon's feet, albeit not as much.

[–]CubemonkeyNYC -2 points-1 points ago

It's more about the plane's engines providing thrust, which is different than the forces generates when it flaps its wings.

[–]fluxaxion 38 points39 points ago

Both the wings and engines apply a thrust separate from the feet/wheels. The difference here is that the feet of the pigeon drag the bird backwards while the wheels move freely. Trust me, I'm both a pigeon and a plane.

[–]reiphil 5 points6 points ago

His story checks out.

[–]Isthiscreativeenough 7 points8 points ago

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Fluxaxion!

[–]houssc 0 points1 point ago

Exactly, not sure why some are having a hard time grasping this. You are correct, the wheels of an aircraft can spin independently, the pigeon's feet can not, as a result the pigeon moves backwards.

I imagine a bird that is able to generate much more thrust and create more lift from a standstill could probably avoid this problem, because it wouldn't need prolonged contact with the ground. I'm not sure if a pigeon can or not, perhaps it can and the bird was just trying to sit on the rail.

[–]homanh 0 points1 point ago

wrong, if on a treadmill a plane does NOT remain stationary whilst its wheels spin freely.

[–]shazoocow 0 points1 point ago

But in the case of the plane the engines provide thrust separate of the lift provided by the fixed wings. In the case of the bird, the wings provide both thrust and lift and they do so in varying quantities depending on the position the wing is in throughout a single stroke.

I don't think CubemoneyNYC is wrong.

[–]kaylakaylakayla 0 points1 point ago

Please read this.

[–]shazoocow 1 point2 points ago

I am familiar with the principles, thanks. But a bird does not generate consistent thrust or lift. It's not exactly the same as a plane is what I'm saying.

[–]imagoodusername 14 points15 points ago

Oh god. Here comes the argument...

[–]Frankeh 1 point2 points ago

There is no argument to be had. The plane will take off. It's obvious.

[–]FivePtFiveSix 1 point2 points ago

There's always an argument. No matter how you try to explain the physics behind why it will work, there are always people who refuse to believe, or educate themselves to the point where they can understand why.

[–]homanh 0 points1 point ago

There is an argument to be had, lift is generated by forward motion of the plane, if the plane is held stationary then no life is generated.

To the idiot saying the difference is the plane has wheels, well I say that even with wheels if an object such as a car is on a treadmill then it is still pulled back on the treadmill due to the friction between the wheels and the rest of the car.

There's nothing obvious about this argument.

[–]jutct 11 points12 points ago

It could. A bird doesn't need forward motion to take off. He was just trying to stand on it and was using his wings for balance. Birds are dumb. He didn't realize the thing was moving.

[–]Omofo 4 points5 points ago

How so, the wings need wind speed in order to create lift.

[–]thbirdman 12 points13 points ago

The treadmill doesn't stop the plane from moving. The plane is pulled forward by the air rather than propelled by the wheels. Imagine if you pulled yourself while wearing roller blades on a treadmill via a rope.

[–]peterfares 9 points10 points ago

Exactly, imagine the extreme case where the wheels were frictionless. Moving the ground wouldn't move the plane. The wheels aren't mechanically coupled with the engine or any part of the plane other than the axle.

[–]FlynSpgetiMnstr 0 points1 point ago

What if you attach to plane with a rope to a wall, or could you make the the friction force of the treadmill equal the force of the propellers?

[–]peterfares 3 points4 points ago

I don't believe it will generate lift if it is attached to the wall because it wouldn't be able to move forward. I'm no expert but I'm pretty sure pulling and pushing the wind through the engines doesn't provide anywhere near enough lift for the plane to get off the ground. The only way a treadmill would stop a plane from taking off is if the wheels on the plane are very very poorly lubricated, transferring a lot of the force from the treadmill to the plane.

To do a mini experiment, get something round and put it on a piece of paper, then quickly pull the paper. The wheel will mostly just stay in place and rotate.

[–]seladore 2 points3 points ago

This is all that needs to be said:

http://blog.xkcd.com/2008/09/09/the-goddamn-airplane-on-the-goddamn-treadmill/

The problem is actually very interesting, and the argument actually sheds light on how people go about solving problems.

[–]homanh 0 points1 point ago

No one is saying thrust is generated by the wheels, however the thrust generated is being counteracted by the treadmill pulling the aeroplane back.

[–]thbirdman 0 points1 point ago

The treadmill wouldn't pull the plane back if it was making thrust unless it had some incredibly high friction wheels. All the treadmill would do is make the wheels spin faster than if it was on stationary ground, but this would mean very little to the airplanes forward motion.

[–]llanes1990 0 points1 point ago

The plane will still be able to generate horizontal velocity because the wheels in planes are free spinning.

[–]Tiak 1 point2 points ago

The pigeon wasn't really trying to take off, he was trying to fly up to the top of the handrail for those stairs.

[–]jokr004 1 point2 points ago

Birds can take off from a standstill, their wings aren't like plane wings, if this bird wanted to fly it would be flying. My guess is it's trying (and failing) to stand on the top of the railing.

[–]houssc -1 points0 points ago

You are correct, the difference between bird wings and plane wings is that that planes generate lift with the wings, but not thrust. I was thinking about the gif and trying to figure out if a pigeon can take off from a standstill or if it doesn't generate enough thrust and lift to do so in a single motion, since they don't strike me as particularly amazing fliers. Perhaps you're right and it was just trying to sit on the rail.

EDIT: I accidentally a word.

[–]shazoocow 0 points1 point ago

I don't actually think they can, or at least not easily. Taking off from a standstill would be tremendously difficult and presents ground-wing clearance issues. As a consequence, birds need to either get a running start so that they can take shorter wing strokes, take a jump from a standstill or do a dive.

If you've ever seen a goose take off from water, you may notice that it will actually jump and then run along the surface of the water before taking off. Very cool.

This may not be true of every single bird species, mind you, but it's generally the case.

[–]rossryan 0 points1 point ago

Indeed. I thought the avian species tried to conserve as much energy as possible. Taking off from a zero-length runway in dead air is supposed to be extremely energy intensive.

[–]ScopeyNZ 0 points1 point ago

Just doesn't want to from the looks of things. Birds can take off from a stand-still so it doesn't matter what it's feet are doing. It's probably just trying to perch there.

[–]The_Countess 1 point2 points ago

what we are seeing here is probably the left overs of how birds evolved flight. a pigeon can take off from a standing position but its 'choosing' not too. that must have a reason. and that reason appears to be its instinct. left over instincts from when it was first developing wings. half formed wings would have helped it run up inclines faster then the things it was trying to get away from, and allowed it to run up steeper inclines. the better the wing the faster and the steeper it could go.

[–]tominabox1 12 points13 points ago

PLANE ON A TREADMILL

[–]LunarAssultVehicle 1 point2 points ago

My first thought!

[–]Arodsteezy2 1 point2 points ago

some men just want to watch the world burn...

[–]mslkt 4 points5 points ago

Legend says this pigeon is still running...

[–]mantisinmypantis 3 points4 points ago

Tis is one of those things you see every once in a lifetime, but when you tell your friends no one believes you.

[–]KamikazeNapkin -2 points-1 points ago

what do you mean? Bill Murray isn't in this.

[–]arbiterbear 2 points3 points ago

Reminds me of this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Li72poyZsdA

[–]da_brownie 0 points1 point ago

me too!

[–]poesie 0 points1 point ago

I can relate.

[–]pingpongpaddle 1 point2 points ago

Why the hell did no one hit the emergency stop button?

[–]Exodus111 0 points1 point ago

Obviously his morning calisthenic workout.

[–]japr 0 points1 point ago

He works out.

[–]Drizen 1 point2 points ago

http://imgur.com/fVlf9

[–]Rfogelsong 0 points1 point ago

He we see the classic relationship between ground speed and air speed. Take note class.

[–]matt420therose 0 points1 point ago

The funniest part about this is that it probably had a heart attack and died!

[–]noddegamra 0 points1 point ago

Soon this will be used as a comparison to getting upvotes in a repost.

[–]mexa6 -1 points0 points ago

Aww, I posted the same thing three months ago and got no upvotes :(

[–]notrightmeow 0 points1 point ago

I was hoping for a horse picture with this title.

[–]Schobbo 0 points1 point ago

Fuckin Physics man.

[–]kronik85 1 point2 points ago

I TOLD YOU THE PLANE WOULDN'T FUCKING TAKE OFF

[–]CapnSalty 0 points1 point ago

That's what I look like at the gym :(

[–]Loinkiller 1 point2 points ago

Well that didn't escalate quickly at all

[–]amcjavelin71 0 points1 point ago

There was episode of mythbuster where they proved that a plane can take off from a conveyor belt. It looked nothing like this pigeon.

[–]Red5point1 0 points1 point ago

original video

[–]Jay_Suf 0 points1 point ago

I laughed so hard I shit all over my bed and woke my wife up. As I was changing the sheets she picked up my phone and saw this and laughed so hard she pissed all over the fresh sheets. Thanks to this god damn pigeon I'm sleeping sheetless!

[–]kosanovskiy 1 point2 points ago

Houston...we have a problem!!!

[–]MrLawbreaker 1 point2 points ago

Little do you know, this is how escalators actually work...

[–]Apeshaft -3 points-2 points ago

Video source?

I have a question, and please don't downvote me into oblivion for asking it.

Why do people post Gif:s instead of posting the real youtube clip?

Am I missing something?

[–]greywindow 8 points9 points ago

They are fast and simple to view. We can view a small part out of context and give it any context we want.

[–]josh6499 -2 points-1 points ago

Youtube videos load faster than gifs for me, plus they have sound, descriptions and comments. Fuck .gif.

[–]Jespoir 1 point2 points ago

Youtube is super annoying. half the time it doesn't load. A gif is like a moving photograph. In my mind is a beautiful thing!

[–]whiskeyonsunday 0 points1 point ago

They load quickly and it's just easier, especially if you're at work or have something else on. It's rare that I'm on the computer and I'm not listening to music or watching something on tv at the same time. I'm much more likely to click on a gif rather than open up a video and have to pause or mute whatever else I'm watching/listening to at the time.

[–]firefae_ignis -2 points-1 points ago

Oh, physics, you so silly.

[–]Jh8909 0 points1 point ago

What the hell was that guy doing recording on the subway in the first place?

[–]doomgiver98 1 point2 points ago

He wanted to record the pigeon.

[–]skitz1o1 0 points1 point ago

Today on Mythbusters!

[–]nobody2000 2 points3 points ago

Are you referring to the airplane launch myth? This was by far the myth with the worst busting methodology.

For those who don't know what I'm talking about, they wanted to test if a plane can take off from a conveyor belt going the same speed as it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YORCk1BN7QY

So they build a giant conveyor belt to get the engine and wheels going, but keep the plane sitting stationary. You can see the issue upon seeing the video - the plane was never kept stationary. It's a bit mind boggling to consider how you would keep the plane 'stationary' while also having it going at takeoff speed on a conveyor belt - I'm not sure it's possible - but mythbusters did a sloppy job on this one.

[–]jglee1236 1 point2 points ago

You're the best... AROUND! NO ONES EVER GONNA KEEP YOU DOWN!

[–]djentlemetal 1 point2 points ago

I cracked up when I watched the gif without music. Put this on, and now I can barely breathe.

Tears

[–]xzosimusx -1 points0 points ago

Boy, that escalated quickly!

[–]zaent -2 points-1 points ago

Checkmate Athiests

[–]the_internet_clown -4 points-3 points ago

even birds are exercising before americans

[–]anotherbozo -3 points-2 points ago

STOP MAKING A VIDEO AND HELP IT!

[–]jmdxsvhs15 -2 points-1 points ago

mathew....mcconaughey

[–]jmdxsvhs15 0 points1 point ago

MATHEW..............................MCConaughey.

[–]Ruebinho -1 points0 points ago

Bird look at my body... I work out!

[–]Etocoloco 0 points1 point ago

The title made it for me.

[–]gotRicee 0 points1 point ago

I BELIEVE I CAN FLY

[–]Tiak 0 points1 point ago

Dude, he lives there, that's his morning workout.

[–]maxcaliburx 0 points1 point ago

How cute he thinks its a flight school.

[–]CocoaFang 0 points1 point ago

Welp, this solves the "Bird trying to take off on an Treadmill" problem...

[–]FlyingShoppingCart 0 points1 point ago

What if someone would have taken that pigeon and put it on the other banister?

[–]Turaton 3 points4 points ago

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWGLAAYdbbc#t=22s

[–]DoctorNose 0 points1 point ago

How is it that not a single person stops to inspect what is clearly a pigeon riding an escalator?

[–]Blacula 0 points1 point ago

PHYSICS. HOW DO THEY WORK

[–]Jean_Paul_Shartre 0 points1 point ago

a modern day Sisyphus. pigeophus?

[–]transportman 0 points1 point ago

For some reason I expected to see a horse and a shirtless guy in a cheap movie.

[–]LadyWinter 0 points1 point ago

pigeons treadmill

[–]Searingarrow 0 points1 point ago

I don't get it. In gifs or videos like this people just walk by casually like nothing is happening. I'd be standing there going "HOLY SHIT! LOOK AT THAT FUCKING BIRD!"

[–]s4md4130 0 points1 point ago

I didn't even see the pidgeon until the last dude of the first group got on.. then I was like WT- oh.

[–]Canvasch 0 points1 point ago

But a plane can take off on a treadmill?

[–]hatyn 0 points1 point ago

Pro phone camera work

[–]OldSchoolNewRules 0 points1 point ago

disproves the airplane on a treadmill bullshit nicely.

[–]DitzyPony 0 points1 point ago

Guess who failed no flap November.

[–]DrSpaceGorrila 0 points1 point ago

When I saw this Linkin Parks "In The End" was playing in the background...it strangely fit

[–]Odoacker 0 points1 point ago

Should actually be biking, it's better for your knees.

[–]scrambledbrain 0 points1 point ago

SOOOOO much better than the movie.

[–]Bluenosedcoop -2 points-1 points ago

Stupid dirty animals, no regrets when shooting them.

[–]Forever_Awkward 0 points1 point ago

This finally answers the age old question of whether or not a plane can take off if it's on a treadmill.

[–]houssc 0 points1 point ago

Pretty sure birds aren't planes.

[–]skippermonkey 0 points1 point ago

all we need now is a pigeon work out montage!

[–]Harold_Grundelson 0 points1 point ago

Ah, an aeronautical rodent in its natural habitat.

[–]yeah_this_guy -3 points-2 points ago

I hate myself for expecting the Sarah Jessica Parker movie....and that I've seen it twice

[–]MarleyDaBlackWhole -2 points-1 points ago

I learned about this today in Bio. It is called wing assisted climbing and is recently theorized to have been an early evolutionary drive that promoted wing development.

[–]houssc 0 points1 point ago

Not sure why you're being downvoted :-/

[–]SirEnvelope -1 points0 points ago

I LOLed, and LOLed again.

[–]pepintheshort -5 points-4 points ago

So this is how those little bastards manage to shit so often!

Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy. © 2012 reddit inc. All rights reserved.

REDDIT and the ALIEN Logo are registered trademarks of reddit inc.

π Rendered by PID 7008 on app-103 running 320e81d.