In 1989, Japan's Shinkansen bullet train had a problem.

It was fast, really fast, like pushing 170 miles per hour fast.

But every time it exited a tunnel, it was loud.

The noise was coming from a variety of sources, but whenever a train sped into a tunnel,

it pushed waves of atmospheric pressure through the other end.

The air exited tunnels with a sonic boom that could be heard 400 meters away.

In dense residential areas, that was a huge problem.

So an engineering team was brought in to design a quieter, faster, and more efficient train.

And they had one secret weapon, Ajinakatsu, the general manager of the technical development

department, was a bird watcher.

Different components of the redesigned bullet train were based on different birds.

Owls inspired the pantograph.

That's the rig that connects the train to the electric wires above.

Nakatsu modeled the redesign after their feathers, reducing noise by using the same serrations

and curvature that allow them to silently swoop down to catch prey.

The Adele penguin, whose smooth body allows it to swim and slide effortlessly, inspired

the pantograph supporting shaft, redesigned for lower wind resistance, and perhaps most notable

of all was the kingfisher.

The kingfisher is a bird that dives into water to catch its prey.

The unique shape of its beak allows it to do that while barely making a splash.

Nakatsu took that shape to the design table.

The team shot bullets shaped like different train nose models down a pipe to measure pressure

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