Word of the Day
Debutante (n., DAY-byew-TAHNT)
A young woman making a formal introduction into polite, high society, usually by performing a graceful spin. Also: not our readership. We are neither polite nor graceful.
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Link of the Day
The Great Molasses Flood of Boston
Did you know that a tidal wave of molasses devastated Boston nearly 100 years ago? Don't laugh. The Great Molasses Flood killed 21 people and injured 150.
So how could a cooking ingredient cause such a disaster? It's all in the science of molasses:
A wave of molasses does not behave like a wave of water. Molasses is a non-Newtonian fluid, which means that its viscosity depends on the forces applied to it, as measured by shear rate. Consider non-Newtonian fluids such as toothpaste, ketchup and whipped cream. In a stationary bottle, these fluids are thick and goopy and do not shift much if you tilt the container this way and that. When you squeeze or smack the bottle, however, applying stress and increasing the shear rate, the fluids suddenly flow. Because of this physical property, a wave of molasses is even more devastating than a typical tsunami. In 1919 the dense wall of syrup surging from its collapsed tank initially moved fast enough to sweep people up and demolish buildings, only to settle into a more gelatinous state that kept people trapped.
Simultaneously weird, tragic, and cool.
Unnatural natural disastersBaaaahstaaaanCooking Fluids