Hashing out the classic question with Strouhal numbers and simplified flight waveforms.

	South African Swallow (Hirundo spilodera)	European Swallow (Hirundo rustica)

www.style.org/unladenswallow

The math and physics behind one of the more important questions in life....

As a Monty Python fan and an admirer of physics ('cause I am too thick to understand it) I just could not resist this one. Well worth the read, if only to realise that science can attempt to answer even the impossible at times... and even succeed!

For those who are unaware, the 'unladen swallow' reference comes from Monthy Python and the Holy Grail:

KEEPER: Heh heh. Stop! What is your name?
ARTHUR: It is Arthur, King of the Britons.
KEEPER: What is your quest?
ARTHUR: To seek the Holy Grail.
KEEPER: What is the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow?
ARTHUR: What do you mean? An African or European swallow?
KEEPER: What? I don't know that! Auuuuuuuugh!
BEDEMIR: How do know so much about swallows?
ARTHUR: Well, you have to know these things when you're a king you know.

To get the context, watch the movie - or get a Monty Python fan (there are a lot of them around) to explain it to you....