Researchers Solve Mystery of the Universe, Break Piece of Uncooked Spaghetti in Half

Minusorange · 18 Aug 2018 at 19:08

https://www.livescience.com/63338-s...er&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20180817-lst

When you study physics, you're bound to brush up against some of the universe's larger mysteries. What came before the Big Bang? What lies inside a black hole? Is it possible to break a stick of dry spaghetti into exactly two pieces?

Perhaps you've found yourself asking that last question in your own kitchen. Why is it that, when you try to snap a single piece of uncooked spaghetti in half, you almost always end up with three or more pieces of pasta clattering across your counter? It's a logic-defying phenomenon that has baffled chef and scholar alike for decades; even Nobel physics laureate Richard Feynman, who helped develop the atomic bomb during World War II, is said to have spent the better part of a night sitting in his kitchen, snapping spaghetti sticks and searching for an explanation. [The Mysterious Physics of 7 Everyday Things]

Yep forget trying to find the cure for cancer or developing an alternative to plastic, what we really need to do is find out if it's possible to break a piece of uncooked spaghetti into only 2 single pieces

bjorkiii · 18 Aug 2018 at 19:11

Eh just hold the spaghetti in the middle and snap it.

Freakbro · 18 Aug 2018 at 19:57

If Feynman wants to spend a night contemplating the physics of snapping spaghetti equally in two, then thats fine with me

SexyGreyFox · 18 Aug 2018 at 20:05

bjorkiii said:
Eh just hold the spaghetti in the middle and snap it.

Even with my low IQ I know that wouldn't be perfect

bjorkiii · 18 Aug 2018 at 20:30

I had spaghetti for my tea and snapped each piece in half perfectly.

Haggisman · 18 Aug 2018 at 21:35

Why would you have spaghetti tea? Surely the conventional bag of leaves is more than adequate for any situation?

Malt_Vinegar · 18 Aug 2018 at 22:31

Why on earth would you break spaghetti anyway? Its meant to be that long.....

I guess i understand wanting to know the unknown, but just don't mess with the fine form of pasta that is spaghetti

james.miller · 18 Aug 2018 at 22:34

Had them beat by a couple of years ...

mmj_uk · 18 Aug 2018 at 22:44

Science has become a little bit like art, you just have to talk confidently about your work and no matter how **** it is people swoon over it. It's like all of those articles you see claiming that drinking a glass of wine a day will make you live 10 years longer or eating 5 peanuts a week will give you longer erections. Talk about stealing a wage.

Minusorange · 18 Aug 2018 at 23:14

Malt_Vinegar said:
Why on earth would you break spaghetti anyway? Its meant to be that long.....

I guess i understand wanting to know the unknown, but just don't mess with the fine form of pasta that is spaghetti

Clearly people like @bjorkiii need the spaghetti snapped because it's too long for their tea cups

Angilion · 19 Aug 2018 at 00:16

mmj_uk said:
Science has become a little bit like art, you just have to talk confidently about your work and no matter how **** it is people swoon over it. It's like all of those articles you see claiming that drinking a glass of wine a day will make you live 10 years longer or eating 5 peanuts a week will give you longer erections. Talk about stealing a wage.

If you read more than clickbait, you'll find that science has very little to do with those stories. The art you refer to is that of writing articles that attract attention, not science.

The general scenario would go like this:

Scientist: This study provides some significant evidence that deficiency in <some substance> can have slight adverse effects on the body's ability to maintain the interior of blood vessels and may worsen the buildup of material on the inside of blood vessels caused by other factors and therefore worsen the restriction of blood flow.

A media clickbait writer reads that, looks for some food that contains that substance and writes "SCIENTISTS SAY THAT EATING 5 PEANUTS A WEEK WILL GIVE YOU LONGER ERECTIONS!"

Ahleckz · 19 Aug 2018 at 08:33

I’m pretty confused.

Salted or unsalted?

peterwalkley · 19 Aug 2018 at 09:44

Ahleckz said:
I’m pretty confused.

Salted or unsalted?

No love for Dry Roast then ?

McPhee · 19 Aug 2018 at 15:22

mmj_uk said:
Science has become a little bit like art, you just have to talk confidently about your work and no matter how **** it is people swoon over it. It's like all of those articles you see claiming that drinking a glass of wine a day will make you live 10 years longer or eating 5 peanuts a week will give you longer erections. Talk about stealing a wage.

Correlation studies; the bane of modern science. Or of the modern media's reporting of science, anyway.

Scientist: "During our study, we noticed something unusual; people who consumed a moderate level of alcohol on a regular basis lived longer on average than other groups."

Media: "Scientists PROVE drinking alcohol is good for you!"

Scam · 19 Aug 2018 at 15:35

bjorkiii said:
I had spaghetti for my tea and snapped each piece in half perfectly.

Heathen. I'm guessing you cut it up with a knife and fork as well, like some sort of neanderthal?

Angilion · 19 Aug 2018 at 23:59

Scam said:
Heathen. I'm guessing you cut it up with a knife and fork as well, like some sort of neanderthal?

On a slightly related note, forks were quite strongly resisted for quite a while in western Europe for being a heathen item. Seriously. That really happened. Some Christian clerics preached against forks and there was widespread disapproval of forks. There's a quote I vaguely recall about how forks were an example of people placing themselves above god because god had gifted humans with fingers for grasping food.

I tilt my head back and dangle spaghetti into my mouth like a bird eating an overly long worm. It's the only natural way to eat spaghetti

Oh, and neanderthals didn't have forks. Eating forks are a relatively recent thing. It was all knives and spoons for millenia.

EDIT: Aha, I found the quote I vaguely recalled: "God in his wisdom has provided man with natural forks—his fingers. Therefore it is an insult to him to substitute artificial metal forks for them when eating.”

Scam · 20 Aug 2018 at 09:43

Ha I knew someone would pull me up on that (of course, it's ocuk!). But still, ask any Italian. Cutting spaghetti is just plain wrong.

On that note I've been watching some of Anthony Bourdain's show on Netflix. It's brilliant. He did one in Tangier where he showed a BBQ on the beach where they were cooking some italian-inspired dishes including pasta ears in tomato sauce. They of course ate with their hands. Weird to us, normal for them. Right hand only, obvs.

dirtychinchilla · 20 Aug 2018 at 11:40

Haggisman said:
Why would you have spaghetti tea? Surely the conventional bag of leaves is more than adequate for any situation?

Brings back memories...when I was about 17 I used to make a pint of tea (in a pint glass) with about 4 sugars in it. I would often get spaghetti, break it so that it was a reasonable size, and put it in the tea for a minute or so. I really like raw pasta...

FortuitousFluke · 20 Aug 2018 at 11:42

mmj_uk said:
Science has become a little bit like art, you just have to talk confidently about your work and no matter how **** it is people swoon over it. It's like all of those articles you see claiming that drinking a glass of wine a day will make you live 10 years longer or eating 5 peanuts a week will give you longer erections. Talk about stealing a wage.

I came to the conclusion a long time ago that the most dangerous element in the world is a person with strongly held opinions and a very authoritative voice.

Marky · 20 Aug 2018 at 11:49

I had Spaghetti last night - I heat the water up, grab me some Spaghetti, hold in the middle and push outwards towards the pan and split. Most, if not all, small bits go into the bowl.

I suspect I shall be receiving my Nobel Peace Prize shortly for this.