"In pelicans flying in a V-formation, a heart rate 11% lower was observed compared to a solitary flying pelican. "

"Optimistic calculations suggest that thanks to this, flocks can cover greater distances, and that the range of such a migrating flock in a V-formation can increase by up to 70% in a single migration stage compared to a bird traveling solo. "

"If I had someone riding at the same speed one meter in front of me, breaking the air for me, I would only have to generate 152 W, almost exactly 25% less. Let's add a second helper and my effort would be even less, 144 W. With a third, it would drop to 140 W, and with four helpers, it would be just 137 W. "

"If by some miracle I found myself inside a professional peloton, shielded by an even larger mass of people, I could save 50% of power, even potentially more, because here we are constantly talking about 30 km/h, and these savings would proportionally be greater at higher speeds. "

"The gain might seem small, around 5-7%, but it translates to a dozen-plus % lower induced drag, and theoretically, the improvement in the lift-to-drag ratio can be up to 30%. "

"To ride on a perfectly flat surface, without wind, without shaving my calves, at my mass, I currently need to generate 80-90 W if I want to travel at 20 km/h. To accelerate to 40 km/h, I would already have to generate over 380 W. "

"Uh, and this is quite important, because at the same time we know that this addition of iron makes the teeth of, among others, beavers much harder and more resistant to acids. "

"In smaller formations with smaller birds, their wake structure might not persist, it might decay. "

"If you look at pictures of a beaver, you will see that its teeth are very red, very orange, and for a very, very long time it seemed logical. Because we have long known that the enamel of these rodents is rich in an element called iron. "