2 ms·
I think yes to the first question. Rice is extremely hygroscopic. In a fairly famous novel, Mr. Midshipman Hornblower, there’s even an instance of a wooden ship
by CSSer 4y ago
I think yes to the first question. Rice is extremely hygroscopic. In a fairly famous novel, Mr. Midshipman Hornblower, there’s even an instance of a wooden ship with a cargo hold filled with rice breaking up and sinking at sea because of a small leak the crew was unable to detect in time. I’m unable to find a direct source on this, but it’s claimed this is not just a story but actually happened in real life too. The author, C.S. Forester, used stories he had heard and read about in the Navy Gazette to form the basis for his historical fiction novel.
- phil21 4y agoI can't see how this would work. Salt seems much more hygroscopic to me, and if the rice was actually asbording a meaningful amount of moisture you'd have it spoiling. If anything I'd bet the salt is keeping the rice dry. Not to mention the open container design salt shakers inherently share which would imply a rather limited lifetime of the kernels. I'm fairly certain this has to be primary a mechanical mechanism, if it even works at all. I recall plenty of salt shakers at airbnbs or whatnot that were quite soggy regardless of the amount of rice inside the shaker.