My Science Project

I love people who take the piss out of science. But actually by using their brains. That is why I love the Frink Tank boys. Now imagine that said creative/science minded-fellas had a little too much extra time on their hands and access to fire arms, thousands of condoms, Viagra, enough gelatin to drown an elephant and several frozen turkeys..well, then you'd end up with My Science Project. There are seven experiments posted at the moment including

• "Does Viagra Keep Flowers Fresh?"
• "Can you light a Jell-O shot on fire?"
• "What is it like to be shot with a 28-gage shotgun?" aka "The Cheney Shotgun Experiment"
• "How do you make your own ballistic gelatin? (I know Miss Anne will be particularly intrigued with that one).
• "What is the ultimate Jell-O shot?"
• "What is the cheapest way to buy condoms?"
• And finally, "How many condoms can you wear at once?"

Now these may or may not be questions that you have ever wondered. Or for that matter, want to know the answers to. But I would be remiss not to mention that I learned some very interesting facts. Did you know of the existence of the Condom Depot? No? What about the pellet pattern after shooting a 15 lbs frozen turkey from 30 feet? Still No? Well then check it out.

I can't help but share my own favourite at-home science project. It goes way back to the time when I was living in Toronto, with my awesome friends Effiette and Jaimie. It was finals time and we were all eating a lot of Jell-O instant pudding. Don't ask. It just helped. So I made myself a fresh batch of chocolate pudding, waited the several hours of refrigerator time and then ate it slowly over my genetics text book. I nursed the sucker for probably about and hour and then refrigerated the rest.

The next morning the only thing that got my ass out of bed was the thought of that pudding. But low and behold, it has turned from a firm, creamy mass of chocolaty heaven to a liquid pool of watery goo. I was destroyed. And then all of a sudden I am like, DUDE! It's the SPIT! Pudding is thickened by corn starch, which is broken down by the enzyme amylase in your saliva.

So here's what I do to prove my theory. I made another batch of pudding. Once it was finished and set, I put 1/2 cup into two identical bowls. In the first, I stirred in 1 tsp of water. In the second, 1 tsp of spit. Then I put them in the fridge and waited an hour.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The watered pudding was of normal, firm texture. The drooled pudding was liquid. The hour-long nursing of the original pudding must have left significant amounts of spit in the bowl, resulting in starch breakdown and texture "failure." Further conclusions: large bowls of pudding are best eaten in one sitting and definitely, definitely not shared.

(Thanks James!)

Comments

[Katie]

I lurve the idea of people spending their time cooking up random and surreal science experiments. Fab. But while that thing with the pudding is scientifically interesting, it's also fairly spectacularly disgusting!

[Anna]

I do what I can.

[MT]

My sense of the U.K. (and so sometimes Canadian) usage of "pudding" is that even with the saliva it will have remained "pudding" strictly speaking.

[Anna]

Dude. In Canada, pudding is not dessert, it's not a class of foods, it's not "that sweet course taken after dinner." It is delicous and firm gloop most often found in vanilla, chocolate or tapioca flavours - available ready-made, in powdered format, even frozen as pudding pops. No matter our colonial past, us Canadians share the commerical market with our American friends.

So even if spit-soaked chocolate flavoured liquid is still pudding in Britain, let me assure you that it certainly is NOT in Canada.

[Katie]

I can clear this up. Pudding has dual meaning over 'ere. It can either be the sweet course that follows the main course. Say a creme caramel, some cake, or a nice bowl of ice cream.

Or it can be an actual type of food. I offer as evidence Christmas Pudding, Sticky Toffee Pudding, Summer Pudding, and of course the Mighty Yorkshire Pudding. All traditionally consumed in Britain. All these demonstrate that we Brits can comprehend 'pudding' as a food product.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_pudding
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sticky_toffee_pudding
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summer_pudding
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yorkshire_pudding

Ok, we don't really have chocolate pudding so much, but I get what it is. And I reckon it sounds nice.

And by the way Black Pudding doesn't count because it's foul and sick and wrong.

[jaimie]

The pudding experiment is a source of great nostalgia for me. And it forever changed my perspective on double dipping. I miss our geeky little sorority.

[kurtrik]

oh but let us not forget the great vodka filtering experiment!

http://www.ohmygoditburns.com/wordpress/index.php?p=4

[Condoms]

Yes Got to love the CondomDepot!!

[John]

http://www.condomdepot.com

http://www.spicygear.com

[business]

I've basically been doing nothing to speak of. Basically nothing seems worth thinking about. I feel like a void, but that's how it is. I've just been hanging out doing nothing.

[http://globaledge.msu.edu/powered/aib/offsite.asp?URL=http://drug-online.org]

http://globaledge.msu.edu/powered/aib/offsite.asp?URL=http://drug-online.org

[telecommunication]

I haven't been up to anything. My mind is like an empty room, but such is life. Maybe tomorrow. Today was a loss, but eh.