Hacker News Reader

Comment by geuis | Hacker News Reader

I love examples where people use the actual scientific method to test conventional wisdom. This is a good experiment. I would love to see it replicated by other groups (.e.g Mythbusters) to confirm or deny the results.

There is also a similar myth for McDonald's french fries. It would be nice to see those tested as well.

View on HN

On a related note, the same author performed exhaustive testing to replicate the flavor and texture of McDonald's fries at home.

http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2010/05/the-burger-lab-h...

At least one other is also replicating it; she seems to be doing a more thorough job as well, as she's explicitly varying the amount of moisture between her samples..

http://sparkasynapse.blogspot.com

You don't need a scientific test to see that french fries don't rot, just look between the seat cushions in my car. I'm almost positive there is one in their from when I was in high school...

True. But if you eliminate all the water from anything, it won't rot. No one is getting worked up about the bags of sugar, pasta, rice, and dried beans that have been sitting in their cupboard for years, either.

Sorry, folks. French fries rot if you just seal the container they are in, whether made at home or McD's. http://sparkasynapse.blogspot.com

> I would love to see it replicated by other groups (.e.g Mythbusters) to confirm or deny the results.

Why not confirm it yourself? He posted his method, and it's probably not outside your realm of competence.

That's one of the best things about science: anyone can do it!

Why WOULD McD's fries rot? They are saturated in oil, and oil does not rot.

Oil doesn't rot? Are you kidding me? Compact discs rot. Rocket fuel rots. And fungi do it.

Anyway, fries aren't just oil. They're carbohydrates and proteins too. Fats take time but eventually you'll see fungi grow on butter.

To the person above, thanks for linking to my experiment. :)

sparkasynapse.blogspot.com

Good point, but lets back it up with a controlled decay study. In keeping with the theme of the topic. =)

French fries are made by expelling moisture, and are then saturated in oil at which point a crust forms on it. I don't think this warrants and experiment as the results are pretty obvious :)

Congratulations, you've just failed at science. Saying that a result is obvious and therefor the experiment is not worth performing is ... well, I'm having trouble coming up with how to describe it without insulting you. It's certainly not scientific, though.

Just because results are a forgone conclusion doesn't mean that it's not worth testing them. Just because you think that your hypothesis is very strong does not mean that you can skip testing it.

No I haven't, it's been done and tested a gazillion times and been explained by people more adept to science than you and me. I don't need to dip my foot in the water to figure out I'm going to get wet.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com