The drinking bird is an iconic desk toy, right up there with Newton's Cradle, but can you explain how it works? The principle is unintuitive at first glance, but beautifully simple in hindsight, like only the most mesmerizing bits of engineering are.

At its core, the drinking bird is a heat engine, not that unlike a steam turbine or diesel engine. When the birds head dips in the water, it gets wet. When the water evaporates, the bird's head cools. This temperature change in turn changes the internal pressure of the bird's vacuum sealed body, and the movement of the gases and liquids inside propel the bird's motion. This absurdly detailed explanation but the peerless Engineer Guy takes you through all the gory details:

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A few fun facts about everyone's favorite imbibing avian:

It stumped Albert Einstein, who could not immediately figure it out.

It will drink twice as fast if it's drinking whisky.

The bird does not drink at all.

The hat isn't a fashion statement; it hides a small stem used to fill and seal the birds innards.

Let's face it, you are long overdue to .

Source: The Engineer Guy

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