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5 Strangest Materials

MattSparkes writes to tell us that NewScientist recently posted a quick look at five interesting materials with some very strange properties. There are liquids you can walk on, liquids that will escape containers by creeping up the sides, and magnetic liquids that can easily show you the shape of magnetic fields. The story also offers video links to display some of more amazing properties described.

18 of 196 comments (clear)

  1. I have one for you by heauxmeaux · · Score: 5, Funny

    I would like to nominate whatever the hell Wonder Bread is made from.

    One tiny loaf can turn an entire nation into disgusting bloated sacks of lazy crap.
    Truly a mystery of the ages.

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    Beat 'Em and Eat 'Em
    1. Re:I have one for you by Hatta · · Score: 4, Funny

      What about transparent aluminum?

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    2. Re:I have one for you by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      I'm scared of foods that mold won't grow on. It's just not right.

    3. Re:I have one for you by imdx80 · · Score: 3, Funny

      i can also think of a object that gets bigger (like an auxetic material), when beaten or (repeatedly) stretched

    4. Re:I have one for you by Viper+Daimao · · Score: 2, Funny

      Wonder Bread, which is neither...

      --
      "In the game of life, someone always has to lose. To me, if life were fair, that someone would always be Oklahoma." -DKR
  2. Finally an answer! by LiquidCoooled · · Score: 5, Funny

    I always wondered why I kept sliding out of the bath.
    Now I know its just because my atoms all have the same quantum state.

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    liqbase :: faster than paper
  3. Does it include the ever mysterious ethyl alcohol by HMC+CS+Major · · Score: 5, Funny

    The simple liquid capable of making clothes come off, cars swerve, and random impregnation?

  4. "There are liquids you can walk on..." by EXMSFT · · Score: 5, Funny

    Really? Jesus!

    <sorry - had to do it.>

  5. Re:Does it include the ever mysterious ethyl alcoh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Funny you should say that as I read this today:

    "...Yesterday, government scientists suggested that men should take a look at their beer consumption, considering the results of a recent analysis that revealed the presence of female hormones in beer. The theory is that drinking beer makes men turn into women. To test the finding, 100 men were fed 6 pints of beer each. It was then observed that 100% of the men gained weight, talked excessively without making sense, became overly emotional, couldn't drive, failed to think rationally, argued over nothing, and refused to apologize when wrong. No further testing is planned..."

  6. Yes but can they change shape into Robert Patrick by spaceramblings · · Score: 3, Funny

    and go looking for 'that boy'?

  7. 5 strange materials by robyannetta · · Score: 2, Funny

    Alas, Taco Bell was left off the list again, coming in at number six.

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    - Just my $0.02, take with a grain of salt, your mileage may vary.
  8. I love stuff like this! by markbt73 · · Score: 2, Funny

    When I was a kid I had a book called "Scientific Experiments You Can Eat." I seem to remember there being something like the "Oobleck" in there.

    I'd love to try it out, but I get the feeling my wife would kill me if I started cooking up stuff like that in the kitchen...

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    "Oh boy! Are we going to try something dangerous?"
  9. Re:So Did Jesus walk on water using cornstarch? by Hatta · · Score: 4, Funny

    Well, except for the fact that corn was no known in the old world at the time of JC's walkabouts.

    That's why it's a miracle.

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  10. Re:Magnetic Fluid by barry99705 · · Score: 5, Funny

    DO NOT!!! Put one of those magnets within two feet of the bottle of ferro fluid while the lid is off. That stuff stains paint, on the ceiling....

  11. Ummm... by dangitman · · Score: 4, Funny
    LSD is a pretty strange material.

    Hey! Who moved the submit button? And what are all these ponies doing here?

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    ... and then they built the supercollider.
  12. Re:Hammer, Feather, Freefall on the Moon: Revisite by Brandybuck · · Score: 4, Funny

    I'm embarrassed to admit this, but I can't tell if your post is hyperbole or not.

    This is Slashdot. He was probably being completely serious.

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  13. Re:Does it include the ever mysterious ethyl alcoh by Landshark17 · · Score: 2, Funny

    We're doing plenty of casual studies on it at my college.

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    This sig is false.
  14. Re:why are the only interesting materials only flu by TheLink · · Score: 2, Funny

    Nah.

    Dry ice is sublime ;).

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