Clipmarks | coconutshell's 'science' clips

Twinkies 101

Mon, 05 Mar 2007 08:00:43 GMT

clipped by: coconutshell
clipper's remarks: Note to self: must try nuking a Twinkie.

Twinkies and Science

In 1995 a now legendary project called Tests With Inorganic Noxious Kakes in Extreme Situations (or T.W.I.N.K.I.E.S.), Rice University scientists Christopher Scott Gouge and Todd William Stadler conducted a series of experiments to determine the physical properties of a Twinkie.

Gouge and Stadler subjected the snack food to the forces of gravity (Gravitational Response Test), electricity (Resistivity Test), water (Solubility test), flame (Rapid Oxidation Test), and radiation. There was even a Turing test, which concluded that “Twinkies are not sentient in any way we can understand.”

Roger Bennatti, a teacher at the George Stevens Academy, wanted to find out the shelf life of a Twinkie, so he hung a pack on the edge of his blackboard (later on joined by a pack of Fig Newtons). That was some 30 years ago "It’s rather brittle, but if you dusted it off, it’s probably still edible," Bennatti said. "It never spoiled."

It takes 45 seconds to explode a Twinkie in a microwave

Tags: twinkies, food, science, interesting

What's the maximun amount of vodka in a Jell-O shot and still have Jell-O?

Wed, 19 Jul 2006 07:49:55 GMT

clipped by: coconutshell
clipper's remarks: I wish I was there to help conduct this experiment!! The rest of the experiment is on the original site...

Clip Source: www.myscienceproject.org

What is the Ultimate Jell-O® Shot?

The Experiment

The purpose of this experiment was to determine the highest possible concentration of alcohol attainable in a Jell-O shot, while still maintaining the structural integrity (i.e., the gelling properties) of the gelatin. For the purposes of our study, structural integrity was defined as the ability of the gelatin to hold its shape when removed from its container. Recipes for Jell-O shots are often accompanied by the explanation that only a certain amount of liquor can be added to Jell-O shots, the reason being that a minimum amount of water is necessary to enable the gelatin to gel, and too much alcohol will prevent this. How much water is enough? Or more to the point, how much alcohol is too much? As you will see, too much is much, much more than we would have guessed.

Lots and Lots of Jell-O Shots

This study utilized 80 proof (40% alcohol) vodka and Jell-O brand gelatin dessert of various flavors, with parallel tests on both the regular and sugar-free varieties. To this end, we made over two dozen batches of Jell-O shots, and exhausted the contents of nearly five 1.75 liter bottles of vodka.

We did it for science

Tags: science, experiment, vodka, jell-o