[The Science of Ricequakes: How Breakfast Cereal Predicts Natural Disasters]-[And the winner is...RICEQUAKE! (encore)]

Wow in the World · B1 · 2020-07-20

📋 Summary

The Science Behind the 'Ricequake'

In a unique and humorous episode of Wow in the World, hosts Mindy and Guy Raz take listeners on an adventure to the fictional 'Nom Nom Awards,' a ceremony celebrating food-themed cinema. Amidst the glitz and glamour of the marinara red carpet, the hosts delve into a fascinating piece of real-world science: how common breakfast cereal can help researchers understand catastrophic natural events.

From Breakfast Bowl to Scientific Model

The episode highlights an award-nominated film titled Ricequake, which draws its inspiration from a genuine scientific study conducted by researchers Itay Enav and Francois Guillard at the University of Sydney. The core of their research involves studying "porous materials"—substances containing tiny cracks or holes, much like a sponge or, in this case, puffed rice cereal.

Guy Raz explains that while a bowl of cereal might seem trivial, it serves as an excellent, cost-effective model for studying complex structures in the natural world. Specifically, researchers are interested in how these porous materials react when they are "soaked in a liquid and put under pressure."

Predicting Natural Collapses

The scientific significance of this experiment lies in its real-world applications. Naturally occurring dams and massive ice shelves—such as those found in Antarctica—are often composed of porous materials. By using rice puffs in a scientific tube to simulate these structures, researchers can precisely control variables. They apply pressure to the cereal puffs and inject liquid into the bottom of the tube until the material collapses.

This phenomenon, dubbed a "ricequake," occurs when "whole layers of the rice puffs would collapse into themselves all at the same time," producing a distinct, loud cracking sound. By measuring these events in a controlled lab setting, scientists are able to develop a "model, or scientific estimate" that helps them predict when and how larger, more dangerous collapses might occur in natural dams or ice sheets. By adjusting the "time scale from a few seconds to a few years," the researchers hope to gain critical insights into environmental stability.

Conclusion: Science as the Real Winner

While the Nom Nom Awards provide a comedic backdrop, the takeaway remains firmly rooted in the power of inquiry. As Mindy aptly notes, "It sounds like the real award here should go to science." The episode effectively demonstrates that curiosity can turn something as mundane as a soggy bowl of cereal into a breakthrough in geological and structural engineering. Through play and experimentation, the hosts continue to inspire young "Wowzers" to look at the world differently, proving that even the most unexpected objects can lead to profound scientific discoveries.

🎯Key Sentences

I think you'll find it just as impressive.

Are you kidding me, Mindy?

Don't mind if I do.

That's what they call me.

No need to apologize.

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📝Key Phrases

music to your ears

get on with the show

don't mind if I do

up for grabs

done and dusted

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📖 Transcript

Grownups, Wondery Plus subscribers can listen to Wow in the World early and ad-free right now.

Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or Wondery Kids Plus on Apple Podcasts.

Hey, Wowzer fans, Mindy here.

And before we start the show, I gotta let you know that this November, with a special new episode featuring our friends at Circle Round and Terrestrials on Radiolab for Kids,

And don't miss when Elmo from Sesame Street stops by Wow in the World to make us all belly laugh on November 24th.

Oh, but that's not all, Reg.

Or study on the web version →