(Try it if you don't believe me, but wear a leather gardening glove if you do.) Now your feeble little pipe feels as strong and rigid as a wooden pencil.Ī pencil, however, would split your potato in half because, while it's strong and sharp, its cross sectional area is much larger than a straw's. But press the ends of a straw between your index fingers and try bending or deforming it. We assume straws are weak and flimsy because they're so easy to bend in half and squash shut between your lips. The amazing strength of a hollow cylinder and the tiny cross-sectional area of a straw combine to make this trick possible. If you cook the ejected chips, you'll have cylindrical French fries. They fly out too fast to see but your potato ends up looking like Swiss cheese. Wack the potato repeatedly and cylindrical chips shoot out all over the kitchen, accompanied by satisfyingly kooky popping sounds. If your swing followed through enough then, wowsers! You've just speared a spud! Now slam the straw into the potato as hard as you can. Firmly grasp one end of the straw and take a few practice swings at the centre of the potato so you don't miss (you don't need to cover the end of the straw with your thumb but more on this later.)ģ. Hold the potato between your index finger and thumb in a gloved hand (the dishwashing variety will do but a glove is essential for safety!)Ģ. Our modern plastic straws are so robust you can even use them to make cylindrical French fries that shoot out all over the kitchen. This classic science trick is an oldie but a goodie. Video: Straw through a potato, Surfing Scientist trick (Science Online Video).
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