Whales

Whales have always fascinated me, particularly humpback whales. They are so huge yet move through the ocean with grace. A fond memory I have of a visit to Cape Cod is going on a whale watch and seeing a few of them splashing around in the north Atlantic. Granted, you can see a whale at Sea World or a similar theme park, but there's nothing quite like seeing a several-ton animal thrash about in the open ocean. I remember wondering at the time of the whale watch if it's fun for them...building up speed, shooting up past the surface, then coming down into the water and making a magnificent splash.

Interestingly, the nubbings on their fins have inspired an engineer to build a better blade. These new blades can get up to 20% more power out of the wind, according to the article. It'll be interesting to see how these blades impact the green energy movement, since their design contradicts the earlier theory that smooth blades are best.