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The Most Efficient Traveler Isn’t a Bird or a Fish—It’s You on a Bike
(www.scientificamerican.com)
this post was submitted on 14 Oct 2025
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Now that's bullshit. Efficient walking is literally one of the few things we're best at. Chasing prey to exhaustion is a hunting method we are made for.
Edit: right, movers, not walkers.
Compared to other things that walk, yes. Muscle efficiency is gutter tier shit in general. Internal combustion engines look good in comparison, and no, I'm not joking.
This is why e-bikes are the most efficient form of travel in terms of calories burned per km. Batteries and electric motors are about as efficient as anything can be, and it's better when they're not pushing around a large metal box.
In terms of lifetime CO2 output, though, they never quite catch up to regular bikes due to the extra manufacturing needs. It's not a huge difference, though; if an e-bike is what gets people out of a car, that's a massive win.
Yeah, according to that graph a human (on foot) is beaten only by salmon, horse, jet transport, and... humans b/w pedal power.
We're never gonna beat salmon, they're pretty much the ideal swimmers. We're also never gonna beat horses, they're superb.
I guess all that's left is jetpacks /j
I mean, depends on how you compare it. A salmon on land is pretty inefficient. 😂
Uhm, horse? Moving 4 legs with hoofs vs. 2 in pendulum and with heels.