THE TRUTH about SCIENCE!!!

[Roadtoad]

http://us.news1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/uc/20060108/lnq060108.gif

Boy, if that ain't the truth...

[Jeff Corey]

I saw that and you beat me to it.
But did you notice that 9 out of 10 landed butter side down? The probability of that is about .01.
Better than that Russki X ray kid.

[delphi_ote]

The Mythbusters tackled this in one of the episodes of the show. They concluded that butter does not matter at all, unless you press down when applying the butter and it falls from a great height. This makes the toast land butter side UP.

[thatguywhojuggles]

I saw that and you beat me to it.
But did you notice that 9 out of 10 landed butter side down? The probability of that is about .01.
Better than that Russki X ray kid.

Not necessarily. Check the first panel, and notice how he is throwing the bread. He seems to be throwing it away from himself, with the butter side facing away. I imagine his throwing is biased, and the butter end most often lands facing down.

Now the question is, are we talking about throwing toast (like in the first panel) or are we talking about toast slipping off a plate and falling on the floor? If it is just falling off a plate onto the floor, then we should take a look at this closely. I would assume that the toast would be on the plate, butter facing up. I also imagine that the toast would fall about 3-4 feet to the floor. And I imagine that in that amount of generic, unbiased falling, the toast is likely to naturally make half a turn and land on the butter side most of the time.

Probably should go test it.

[Roadtoad]

Probably should go test it.

Stay out of my kitchen.

[PixyMisa]

It's been demonstrated that if you do this with buttered toast by pushing it off the edge of the table, it does land buttered-side down most of the time. But as you suggest, that's to do with the size of a piece of toast vs. the height of of the table; the weight of the butter doesn't really signify.

If you toss the bread aside like that, all bets are off. Except for the stated conclusion, anyway.

[Roadtoad]

Glad to see you again, PM. Stick around for a while, willya?

[CurtC]

I guess everyone's heard about the idea that if you strap a piece of buttered toast to the back of a cat, and drop it, it can never hit the floor, and will remain above the floor levitated.

[Badger]

I guess everyone's heard about the idea that if you strap a piece of buttered toast to the back of a cat, and drop it, it can never hit the floor, and will remain above the floor levitated.

Strap a couple of magnets to the cat, and put the whole mess in a coil of wire, and you'll have one of them thar zero point energy generators, or perpetual motion machines, or sumpin'.

[PixyMisa]

Hi Roadtoad! My boss doesn't get back from his trip for another two weeks, so I'll be popping in and out until then at least. :)

[Zep]

Where is you these days, PM? I'm gone from North Sydney for the time being...

[PixyMisa]

I've moved out to Hornsby. Still haven't escaped the possums of doom. :mad:

[supercorgi]

It's been demonstrated that if you do this with buttered toast by pushing it off the edge of the table, it does land buttered-side down most of the time. But as you suggest, that's to do with the size of a piece of toast vs. the height of of the table; the weight of the butter doesn't really signify.

If you toss the bread aside like that, all bets are off. Except for the stated conclusion, anyway.
Now is that with wheat, rye, 7-grain, or good old Wonder Bread?

[kevin]

The Mythbusters tackled this in one of the episodes of the show. They concluded that butter does not matter at all, unless you press down when applying the butter and it falls from a great height. This makes the toast land butter side UP.

I thought they found this for when the toast started out vertical. When they did a horizontal test it was dependent on the height of the table, but for a typical table, horizontal toast and butter side up, it did one flip and landed butter side down.

[delphi_ote]

I thought they found this for when the toast started out vertical. When they did a horizontal test it was dependent on the height of the table, but for a typical table, horizontal toast and butter side up, it did one flip and landed butter side down.

Indeed, Kevin. I forgot they did two tests. God I love those guys.

[Zep]

I've moved out to Hornsby. Still haven't escaped the possums of doom. :mad:Long may they scamper across your roof at night! ;)

[TjW]

What if you butter both sides?

[thatguywhojuggles]

What if you butter both sides?

Same as strapping a single side buttered piece of a toast to a cat (as mentioned above,) only no scratches.

[PixyMisa]

Long may they scamper across your roof at night! ;)

It's when they scamper inside my roof at night that it becomes a problem. :mad:

[Grimoire]

w w w .deepscience.com/justsilly/fun006.html

:D

(Sorry, can't post real links yet)

[Zep]

It's when they scamper inside my roof at night that it becomes a problem. :mad:Train them to spread R3.5 batts, and plug any leaks in the tiles. ;)

[luchog]

http://www.flippyscatpage.com/catandtoast2.html

[c4ts]

And next they'll be buttering subatomic particles to see if top quarks always land butter side up...

[kmortis]

Strap a couple of magnets to the cat, and put the whole mess in a coil of wire, and you'll have one of them thar zero point energy generators, or perpetual motion machines, or sumpin'.
It's only a true perpetual energy machine if you put the whole contraption inside of a box with radioactive isotopes and never open it again.

[casebro]

I remember a cartoon of two guys standing over an obviously flat cat. One is saying " Pay up. I told you he'd land on his feet" They are both wearing flight suits...

I'm sure it is a moment of inertia thing, but why does a piece of toast turn at that given rate? I know things seem to have a particular rate- I've thrown bayonets at boards hundreds of times. They seem to flip at a given rate. You have to be at a particular distance to throw with a handle grip, and at a different distance to grasp from the point. From memory (35 years ago?) About 1 turn in 12 feet. Toast makes 1/2 turn in 3 feet. Due to the acceleratrion of gravity, toast would need a 9 foot table to land butter side up? Would a slice of toast held by one edge flip faster? slower? Since it wouldn't start it's flip as it's center reached the table edge... experimentation at the breakfast table anyone?