It looks like a common sulphur butterfly.
It sits pinned in the display case along with all the other butterflies. However, in a couple of important respects, it's different.
It's fake.
And it moves.
The thorax is a cleverly designed exterior hiding a simple ball of silicone rubber, through which a pin can be harmlessly thrust. The abdomen contains a small capacitor, which collects energy - very slowly - from the under-wing plastic film solar panels, and a tiny amount of circuitry which triggers flexure of the nitinol wire in the wings when there is enough energy to do so. Moving the wings from flat to erect, and back, takes only a second. Then the action will repeat - after a few minutes to perhaps an hour or so.-- lurch, Jan 31 2006 "dead" sparrow http://www.london-s.../view.php?ArtID=988One of my all time favourite pieces of work [xenzag, Feb 03 2006] I enjoy these kind of jokes [+]-- normzone, Jan 31 2006 In the Natural History Museum please.-- wagster, Jan 31 2006 It most likely doesn't even need to do a full excursion from flat (as if pinned) to folded, as many species like to sit in the sun with their ray-bans on, just flitting their wings just a little bit up, but still open, then flat out again, then just flit up a bit, then flat out again and relax...
Less energy, more style, ciao.-- Ian Tindale, Jan 31 2006 This is brilliantly gruesome, especially with wagster's context.-- calum, Feb 01 2006 nice idea, (giving you a +) but baked (sorry) - have seen in a different form - "dead" bird trapped in shop window - will find link and put up when I do.-- xenzag, Feb 01 2006 That's nothing. I've seen hundreds of mounted fish, in a market stall. All of them were capable of singing, too.-- Ian Tindale, Feb 01 2006 Great idea. Can we do it with Grandma, so we know she's still with us?-- UnaBubba, Feb 01 2006 Sounds like something Banksy would do. Heh.-- Steamboat, Feb 02 2006 Banksy ? Are you serious ? Banksy has about as much creativity as a clump of frog spawn stuck to a river bank.-- xenzag, Feb 03 2006 [Ian] - re: short stroke wing flitting - that's exactly the spirit that I intended. The idea isn't "aww, looky the poor stabbed critter", but more "did I really see what I think I saw?"
Therefore, the goal is to make at least 10 people doubt their own sanity for only a microwatt of power. If I can do that, just think what I can do with a kilowatt.-- lurch, Feb 08 2006 For some reason I thought this would be about a new type of car that has a profound effect on the weather, whenever you drive it.-- UnaBubba, Feb 08 2006 halfbakery