Welcome back! Today we’re going to be focusing on science. For this challenge, we had to focus on a topic of science we are interested in. I choose why can fish not swim backwards. In this I will give you some right or wrong questions and some scientific knowledge.
Lets start with this, why can’t fish swim backwards? Turns out that some fish can. Although some can, lets focus on the ones that can’t. A easy way to describe it is, fish have a certain muscle in their body leading to their tail that allows them to get a lot of power to move them forward. This makes for pretty inconvenient ways to go backwards. For most they have to crank their bodies around just to go the other way.
In this picture, we see the muscle breakdown of a fish. With the spinal cord being very flexible, fish are able to twist in a 180º angle. Although, their tails are like flippers. They generate power, but you can’t physically move it in ways you want. So in conclusion, these types of fish can’t swim backwards.
If you look up a video on this subject, you won’t find anything. You will more likely find a fish swimming backwards. These are the certain fish that move in different ways than your normal fish.
Now you will do my quiz. In this you will have a quiz on a question that is answered somewhere in this post.
Click HERE to do the quiz.
November 15, 2018 at 11:20 pm
Felix,
I had no idea that fish swam backwards!!! What a very interesting fact. Where did you learn about this fact? What other interesting things do fish do?
Thanks for sharing this very valuable information.
Lorna
November 16, 2018 at 10:02 pm
Thanks Lorna! This is something I have somewhat always been interested in. I love marine life in general and once when I was snorkeling there was a fish swimming backwards, and it kinda freaked me out. otherwise I haven’t really got a chance to talk about it until now.
November 25, 2018 at 1:23 pm
Hi Feliz
First of all, I apologize for my delay. Your post was very rich and complex for my mastery of your language and my week has been too busy. I just wanted to get the time to read you carefully and answer as your so interesting and well build article deserves.
I had never asked that question about fishes swimming backward, perhaps because I myself always used to just turn around and go back if I wish to.
So now, I understand better the physiological motives of the inconvenience for most fishes to swim backward: their powerful ability to move forward thanks to their tail and the amazing flexibility of their spinal cord, enabling a very quick twist of the whole body.
I’m very sorry I couldn’t get into your Quizz: day after day I came back to check the entrance and it has never been allowed.
I would like to share with you something I found about walking backward: all of us, humans, can walk backward, but we usually don’t. I guess it is because we become too slow.
But I can show you that some people walk backward regularly and in public places – I think they all have a certain dose of sense of humor in common.
While, after my third knee surgery, I must walk with crutches permanently, I discovered how comfortable it is to walk down staircases backward, as well as going up backward along steep streets.
For the amazement and the amusement of strangers crossing my path, this is also a great relief for my painful knees!
Would you guess what is the physiological justification for this phenomenon?
I hope you are greatly enjoying your Challenge!
#STUBC Commenter, Teacher Ines