  A liquid meniscus, a bending rod (also called elastica) and a simple pendulum
are all described by the same non-dimensional equation. The oscillatory regime
of the pendulum corresponds to buckling rods and pendant drops, and the
high-velocity regime corresponds to spherical drops, puddles and multiple rod
loopings. We study this analogy in a didactic way and discuss how, despite this
common governing equation, the three systems are not completely equivalent. We
also consider the cylindrical deformations of an inextensible, flexible
membrane containing a liquid, which in some sense interpolates between the
meniscus and rod conformations.
