It’s a coin on a treadmill. That’s it. The coin is rolling on a treadmill for over an hour. There are a few notes of “exciting” things that happen below, but otherwise, it’s just a treadmill with a coin rolling on it. For an hour. Now, think about the science behind it, though. That’s where there’s at least a bit of coolness. If you were asked if a coin could roll on a treadmill non-stop for an hour, you’d probably say it was possible but it would be hard to get the speed adjusted to just the right point to keep it from falling off either end. Not so! Here are the spoilers: 06:09 to 08:50 attempts with another coin,…

That headline up there may sound like Monty Python-esque absurdity, but it’s quite real. Or at least half of it is. At a farm in Northern Ireland, farmer William Taylor is putting his cows on treadmills – not to lose weight, but to generate electricity. Yes, really. The treadmills are placed at a slight incline, and to prevent themselves slowly sliding backwards, the cows have to walk, while a feed container gives them something to stay occupied. As they trudge along, the treadmill turns a crank which in turn spins a generator, and apparently, one cow walking produces enough power to run four milking…