Bats and skateboarders have something special in common. They both use inertia to land their tricks which, in a bat's case, means landing upside down.
Researchers from Brown University used high-speed video of actual bats and also computer simulation to understand bats'"remarkable agility in flight, reorienting from a horizontal flying position to a heels-over-head roosting position and recovering from aerial stumbles with ease."
"Falling with Style: Bats Perform Complex Aerial Rotations by Adjusting Wing Inertia" (PLoS)
(Video via PBS NewsHour)
PLoS
