There once was a rooster with no feet.
All clips via AJ+.
In the winter of 2015, a rooster named Foghorn was rescued by Calgary Animal & Bylaw Services after he lost his feet to frostbite.
Can you imagine what life might be like for a footless rooster? I can’t either. But Foghorn didn’t have to for long.
University of Calgary veterinarian Daniel Pang heard about the rooster and knew his friend veterinary researcher Mark Ungrin had access to a 3D printer.
Ungrin’s department was already working on making animal prosthetics, but very often they weren’t able to test their work on actual animals. Along came Foghorn.
Ungrin assigned the task of 3D printing new feet to Calgary engineering undergrad Douglas Kondro, who based the new rooster feet on wild turkey talons.
Live animal in need + scientists and engineers with a great idea and a 3D printer = new feet for Foghorn.
After a few tries, (if at first you don’t succeed…) Kondro’s 3D printed rooster feet worked! Foghorn could walk.
You can do anything but lay off of my blue printed feet.
Amazing, right?
3D printing is a radical new technology. It’s cheap, it’s fast, and it’s why Foghorn is walking again. And it could mean even more down the line, the more we invest in experimentation.
But we have to be careful. If too many smart people collaborate to make cool and useful new things, we MIGHT have a ton of cool and useful new things to help us lead happier healthier lives! Today blue feet for Foghorn, tomorrow … who knows!
Here’s a little bit more detail on Foghorn, thanks to AJ+!:
