3 ms·

I have seen a lot of these before except "Put a wooden spoon across a boiling pot of water to keep it from boiling over." That is a new one to me. What's the sc

I have seen a lot of these before except "Put a wooden spoon across a boiling pot of water to keep it from boiling over." That is a new one to me. What's the science of that? How/why does that work? Also, on the Exit on left or exit on right (http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mbyisdluoz1qhkzpz.jpg http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mbyisdluoz1qhkzpz.jpg) - I don't think that applies to all cities. I know for a fact there is some signs in my city that do not do this, especially older signs.

JangoSteve 14y ago
For the wooden spoon across the pot, here's the original reddit thread with discussion: http://www.reddit.com/r/LifeProTips/comments/od9at/lpt_put_wooden_spoon_across_boiling_pot_of_water/ http://www.reddit.com/r/LifeProTips/comments/od9at/lpt_put_w... The spoon breaks the surface tension of the bubbles, causing them to pop when they start to boil over. Other people seem to be saying a metal spoon should work just as well (with the added bonus that it won't warp, unlike a wooden spoon), with the only downside that it will be hot to take off. I'm doubtful that a metal spoon would work as well though, because metal does not absorb moisture like wood and also has a smoother surface (i.e. less surface area on a microscopic level), and so it probably wouldn't be as effective in making the bubbles attach and pop. Of course the only way to know for sure would be to do an experiment.
- evilduck 14y ago
  It also depends on the foodstuff and ratio of that food to the volume of water as well. Pot diameter plays a role too, a wider pot provides more room for each bubble and less chance to "climb" one another, plus a wider surface requires more volume of foam to breach the top of the pot. I'm no chemist, but my observations from cooking and homebrewing, pasta and wort boil over worse than plain water because dissolved starches/sugars/proteins allow the bubbles to have greater surface tension and hold together better. If you cook with more water but the same quantity of food, the bubbles have less surface tension and you can probably avoid the boil over scenario altogether. For this particular life tip, I would expect a starch-laden foam from cooking pasta to leave a residue on the spoon as the bubbles popped that would eventually let it boil over still. It will buy you some additional time before a mess is made of your stove though.
dspeyer 14y ago
I often put a wooden spoon across the top of a pot of boiling water just because that's a convenient place to put it. The pot sometimes boils over. I've seen no correlation with the spoon.
zipdog 14y ago
The hwy exit differs from place to place. In Canada there's an angled edge to indicate which side the exit is on. But I'm guessing that most places have some system that subtly indicates which side, excepting, as you say, older signs

JangoSteve 14y ago

For the wooden spoon across the pot, here's the original reddit thread with discussion: http://www.reddit.com/r/LifeProTips/comments/od9at/lpt_put_wooden_spoon_across_boiling_pot_of_water/ http://www.reddit.com/r/LifeProTips/comments/od9at/lpt_put_w... The spoon breaks the surface tension of the bubbles, causing them to pop when they start to boil over. Other people seem to be saying a metal spoon should work just as well (with the added bonus that it won't warp, unlike a wooden spoon), with the only downside that it will be hot to take off. I'm doubtful that a metal spoon would work as well though, because metal does not absorb moisture like wood and also has a smoother surface (i.e. less surface area on a microscopic level), and so it probably wouldn't be as effective in making the bubbles attach and pop. Of course the only way to know for sure would be to do an experiment.

evilduck 14y ago
It also depends on the foodstuff and ratio of that food to the volume of water as well. Pot diameter plays a role too, a wider pot provides more room for each bubble and less chance to "climb" one another, plus a wider surface requires more volume of foam to breach the top of the pot. I'm no chemist, but my observations from cooking and homebrewing, pasta and wort boil over worse than plain water because dissolved starches/sugars/proteins allow the bubbles to have greater surface tension and hold together better. If you cook with more water but the same quantity of food, the bubbles have less surface tension and you can probably avoid the boil over scenario altogether. For this particular life tip, I would expect a starch-laden foam from cooking pasta to leave a residue on the spoon as the bubbles popped that would eventually let it boil over still. It will buy you some additional time before a mess is made of your stove though.

dspeyer 14y ago

I often put a wooden spoon across the top of a pot of boiling water just because that's a convenient place to put it. The pot sometimes boils over. I've seen no correlation with the spoon.

zipdog 14y ago

The hwy exit differs from place to place. In Canada there's an angled edge to indicate which side the exit is on. But I'm guessing that most places have some system that subtly indicates which side, excepting, as you say, older signs