High-speed videos reveal the strange technique and delicate balance of physical forces cats use to lap milk from a bowl.

Unlike dogs, who use their tongues as ladles to scoop water into their jaws, cats pull columns of liquid up to their mouths using only the very tips of their tongues.

"Cats are just smarter than dogs from the point of view of fluid mechanics," said civil engineer Roman Stocker of MIT.

Cats' tongues operate more like