There are "dog people" and "cat people" when it comes to choosing a pet. Each group would defend their choice for many reasons, but there is one difference among the two pets that has, at its core, physics. When a cat drinks from a bowl of water or creamy milk, often not a drop is spilled. Give a dog a bowl of water and you might wind up with a drooling messy dog and a puddle on the floor. Cats rule, dogs drool? Sort of, but it's physics.
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A cat's tongue barely touches the surface of a liquid. Because of the sticky surface of their tongues, the speed at which they can retract their tongues (80 cm per second!) and the cohesion of water molecules, a cat creates a slim column of water, against the forces of gravity, and is able to drink. Dogs, on the other hand dip their tongues deep into the water, and curve them into the shape of a ladle to scoop up the water. Their tongues are generally larger and it's not about gravity, so there is more of a mess. Dogs are also faster, at a rate of almost 700 cm per second, so the splash factor is bigger. Both cats and dogs lack the cheek muscles to create suction like other animals, so they have to rely on physics.
