(Image Source: Boston Dynamics ) BY JASMINE BAILEY There is one dog you probably won’t want to mess with because it can do a little more than play fetch— it can throw… a cinder block … across a room.   All right, fine. It’s not a real dog. It’s the BigDog robot, initially funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA. Check it out. Boston Dynamics — the engineering company that built BigDog—says it all in the headline: “ The Most Advanced Rough-Terrain Robot on Earth.” DARPA funded construction of the 3-foot long, 2.5-foot tall and 240-pound robot to help military troops carry supplies over rough terrain. You might have noticed, Bigdog’s throwing arm is in the same place a real dog’s head would be. Mashable points out — that allows the robot to use its entire body to wind up and throw— similar to a champion shot putter. Wired says BigDog’s newfound talent for flinging bricks is quite impressive and “expands the boundaries of robotic motion.” Yeah, well, that doesn’t make it any less freaky. But it is notable that cinder blocks can weigh as much as 30 pounds— about the weight of four gallons of water— image trying to throw that across THIS room.  Although Bigdog continues to amaze us— how might someone put this innovative skill to use? A writer for SlashGear asks the same question. “We’re guessing the arm could be used for moving small obstacles out of the way, or maybe hurling heavy objects (like cinder blocks) at enemies. Whatever the case, we now know what robots are capable of if they ever turn on us.” Ahh, how comforting! According to Boston Dynamics— the final goal for Bigdog is to, quote, “develop a robot that can go anywhere people and animals can go.” Oh, that makes me feel better.