Hi there! I’m John Green, and welcome to my salon. Today, we’re diving into some intriguing scientific studies about food. Let’s start with a classic question: Why does toast often land butter-side down? A study in 2001 had kids drop toast 21,000 times, and 62% of the time, it landed butter-side down. Interestingly, the same happened with toast marked with a “B,” showing that butter isn’t the main factor. Instead, height, position, and rotation speed are key.
Have you ever seen a face in your toast? This is called face pareidolia. A 2014 study found that when people expect to see a face, their brain’s fusiform face area lights up, even if there’s no face. It’s all about expectation!
In 1996, researchers at Case Western Reserve University explored self-control. Participants were tempted with cookies but some had to eat radishes instead. Those who resisted cookies struggled more with puzzles, suggesting self-control can be exhausting. However, new research questions this idea.
Did you know sleep affects food temptation? A study found that five-year-olds who slept less than 11 hours were more tempted by their favorite foods. More sleep meant less temptation.
Another study looked at how kids eat chicken. Those who ate chicken on the bone showed more social aggression than those who ate pre-cut pieces. Who knew chicken could influence behavior?
A 2012 study asked 500 moms to rate meals with and without vegetables. Meals with veggies were rated tastier. So, adding veggies might make your meals more appealing!
Eating before grocery shopping can change what you buy. A study found that people who ate an apple bought 28% more fruits and veggies than those who ate a cookie or nothing. Healthy snacks can lead to healthier shopping!
In 2015, six men ate 6,000 calories a day of junk food while staying in bed for a week. They gained weight and developed insulin resistance, a diabetes risk factor, in just two days. This shows how quickly unhealthy eating can affect your body.
Visuals can impact food choices. A YMCA study showed that displaying salad images increased salad consumption by 90%. Pictures on menus can also influence what we order.
The CDC uses Yelp reviews to track foodborne illnesses. They identified three outbreaks by analyzing reviews. So, sharing your experiences online can help public health!
A 2015 study had participants log their meals for three weeks. Most people thought they ate three meals a day but actually ate more frequently and erratically. Many of us are grazers without realizing it.
Pickle juice is said to cure muscle cramps. A study at Brigham Young University found it made cramps go away 37% faster than water. So, pickle juice might be a handy post-workout remedy!
What’s the best way to refuel after a workout? A study found that fast food, Gatorade, and other snacks all replenished glycogen after exercise. However, fast food has its downsides, so choose wisely!
While too much salt isn’t healthy, it might help fight infections. Studies showed that sodium levels increase around infections, helping to combat bacteria. But remember, moderation is key!
Do you like spicy food? A study found that men reported enjoying it more than women. Men who liked spicy food also tended to seek peer admiration.
Researchers used Hawaiian restaurant menus from 1928 to 1974 to track fish populations. They noticed that jackfish disappeared from menus around 1935, indicating a decline in their population.
A 2005 experiment showed that people ate 73% more soup from self-refilling bowls than regular ones. Surprisingly, they didn’t feel fuller, highlighting how portion control can be tricky.
Lighting affects how much we eat. A study found that people ate less in dimly lit, softly-music-filled sections of a fast-food restaurant compared to brightly lit areas.
In a study, women who ate probiotic yogurt showed different brain activity compared to those who didn’t. This suggests that probiotics might influence our brain and cognition.
Many people misunderstand food labels like “best before” and “sell-by.” A report found that 90% of Americans throw away food early because of this confusion. Remember, “sell-by” doesn’t mean “eat by.”
In 1939, Dr. Clara Marie Davis let babies choose their own food from 33 healthy options. Surprisingly, they picked balanced diets, suggesting they have instincts for healthy eating. However, this might not hold true with today’s unhealthy options.
Thanks for joining me on this journey through food science. Remember, don’t forget to be awesome!
Conduct your own toast drop experiment! Drop a slice of toast from different heights and record how often it lands butter-side down. Analyze your results to see if they match the study’s findings. Discuss what factors might influence the outcome.
Create your own art inspired by face pareidolia. Use toast or other materials to design faces. Share your creations with the class and discuss why our brains might see faces where none exist.
Participate in a self-control challenge. Choose a tempting snack and a healthier option. Try to resist the tempting snack for a set period and then engage in a puzzle or task. Reflect on how self-control affects your performance.
Keep a journal for a week, tracking your sleep patterns and food cravings. Analyze how your sleep duration affects your temptation to eat certain foods. Share your findings with the class.
Design a menu with and without images of the food. Conduct a survey with your classmates to see which menu items are more popular. Discuss how visuals can influence food choices.
Sure! Here’s a sanitized version of the transcript:
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Hi, I’m John Green. Welcome to my salon. This is a Mental Floss video. There have been scientific studies attempting to determine why toast lands butter-side down. One published in 2001 examined this phenomenon by having one thousand kids drop toast about twenty-one thousand times across several experiments. 62% of drops resulted in the toast landing butter-side down, a number virtually identical to toast with just a “B” written on it, proving that the actual butter was irrelevant. The three most important factors were height, position, and rotation speed.
That’s the first of many scientific studies about food I’m going to share with you today. Let’s continue with more research on toast. One study published in 2014 explained the phenomenon of seeing faces, like Jesus or the Virgin Mary, in toast. This is known as face pareidolia. When someone expects to see a face, they’re more likely to. In this study, men were connected to an fMRI machine while looking at static images. When they anticipated seeing a face, the fusiform face area in the brain lit up, but it didn’t when they expected another image or no image at all.
A famous food study was conducted in 1996 at Case Western Reserve University. Participants were brought into a room that smelled like cookies and contained sweets. One group was allowed to eat chocolate, while another group ate radishes. Then both groups did puzzles, and those who resisted the temptation to eat chocolate weren’t able to focus as effectively on the puzzles as the chocolate eaters or a control group. Researchers concluded that self-control is a resource that can be drained. However, new evidence suggests that the conclusion may be incorrect, and there’s no such thing as ego depletion.
Speaking of temptation, one study found that five-year-olds who get less than 11 hours of sleep at night are more enticed by visuals or reminders of their favorite food. Kids who slept more were less susceptible to temptation. A different study had kids between the ages of 6 and 10 either eat pre-cut chicken or chicken on the bone. Researchers found that children who ate chicken off the bone exhibited more social aggression.
Let’s move on to vegetables. A study published in 2012 interviewed 500 moms with at least two kids living at home. The moms were shown various dishes, some featuring vegetables and some not. The women tended to rate the meals with vegetables as likely to be tastier. The Cornell University Food and Brand Lab has conducted studies about whether eating before grocery shopping affects what we buy. In one study, 120 people were split into three groups: some ate an apple, others a cookie, and others ate nothing. Then they all went to the supermarket. Those who ate the apple ended up buying 28% more fruits and vegetables than the cookie group and 25% more than the no-food group.
Speaking of health, a study published in 2015 had six men stay in bed for a week, eating 6,000 calories a day of foods like pizza, burgers, and cookies. They gained an average of seven and a half pounds each, and within two days, they all developed insulin resistance, a precursor to diabetes.
Researchers from Iowa State University once conducted a study at a YMCA where they put up a digital display of a salad for young campers to see, which correlated with up to a 90% increase in salad consumption. This works for both healthy and unhealthy food. There’s a mountain of evidence that pictures on menus influence our orders. Another interesting menu fact is that when we see a dollar sign, we tend to spend less. Research from Cornell University found that people spent much more when there was no dollar sign in front of prices.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported that Yelp is a good source for tracking foodborne illnesses. For instance, public health officials were able to identify three separate outbreaks over nine months by analyzing data from over three hundred thousand reviews. A couple of helpful food poisoning strategies: stay hydrated and don’t forget to post to Yelp.
In a study published in 2015, researchers developed an app for 156 participants to log everything they ate for three weeks. They found that most people claimed to eat three meals each day but actually ate frequently and erratically, meaning that most of us are grazers. For years, athletes have claimed that pickle juice is a magic cure for muscle cramps. A recent study from Brigham Young University had 10 men test that theory. They cycled until they were mildly dehydrated, and then shocks were induced to cause cramping. Some participants received pickle juice, while others received water. The researchers found that the pickle juice did make the cramps go away 37% faster.
Speaking of how to refuel post-workout, one study looked at the best way to replenish glycogen, an energy supply that depletes during exercise. Researchers compared fast food, Gatorade, energy drinks, supplements, and other snacks. All of them replenished glycogen in participants who had fasted for 12 hours and then worked out for 90 minutes, although fast food has its own health drawbacks.
There are many reasons to limit salt intake, but studies have shown that eating salt might actually help prevent infections. Experiments involving both mice and people showed that sodium levels increase around an infection after salt consumption, and when salt isn’t eaten, bacteria around an infection are more likely to thrive. However, if you want to be financially savvy, you should definitely avoid salty food. Healthy food is generally cheaper than salty or sugary food, according to the Department of Agriculture.
A Pennsylvania State University study found some gender differences in enjoyment of spicy food. Men reported liking it more than women. Interestingly, researchers also administered a personality test and found that men who claimed to like spicy food tended to desire peer admiration.
One cool study used menus from Hawaiian restaurants to understand fish population fluctuations. They collected menus from 154 different restaurants between 1928 and 1974 and observed which fish populations were abundant in Hawaii. For instance, jackfish started to disappear from menus around 1935 and became very rare by 1960.
In an experiment published in 2005, researchers found that participants eating soup from bowls that refilled on their own consumed 73% more soup than those eating from regular bowls. Most surprisingly, participants didn’t even suspect that their bowl was secretly being refilled and did not report feeling fuller than the control group.
Another factor affecting how much we consume is restaurant lighting. Researchers turned part of a fast-food restaurant into a fine dining establishment by lowering the lighting and playing softer music. In that section, people stayed at their tables longer but ate less food than those in the brightly lit section.
In a week-long study, 36 women were put into three groups: one group was told to eat probiotic yogurt twice a day, another group ate a fake yogurt, and a control group did not. After four weeks, the women were given fMRI scans. Researchers found that those who ate the probiotic yogurt had less brain activity in parts associated with bodily sensations but increased connectivity in parts related to cognition, suggesting that our intellectual capacity may be influenced by the microbes in our bodies.
In 2013, the Natural Resources Defense Council and Harvard Law released a report about food safety. According to them, 90% of people in the United States throw away food early because they don’t understand labels like “best before” and “sell-by.” Just for the record, “sell-by” does not mean “eat by”; it just means “sell by.”
Finally, I return to my salon to tell you about some research that would likely not be conducted today. In 1939, Dr. Clara Marie Davis published a study in which she had 15 babies make their own food choices. The children had just been weaned off milk and were allowed to choose between 33 different food options for various amounts of time. Some for over four years. Surprisingly, the infants were good at choosing a balanced diet with high nutritional value. Davis believed they had the instincts to keep themselves alive and healthy. However, all the options she provided were healthy, which might not be as valid in a world filled with unhealthy options.
Thanks for watching Mental Floss, made with the help of many wonderful people. Let me know what your favorite brand of probiotic yogurt is in the comments. As we say in my hometown, don’t forget to be awesome!
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Let me know if you need any further modifications!
Food – Any nutritious substance that people or animals eat or drink to maintain life and growth. – A balanced diet includes a variety of foods to provide the necessary nutrients for good health.
Study – The detailed investigation and analysis of a subject or situation. – The study of biology helps us understand the complex processes that occur in living organisms.
Health – The state of being free from illness or injury. – Regular exercise and a balanced diet are important for maintaining good health.
Sleep – A natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended. – Getting enough sleep is crucial for the body’s recovery and overall well-being.
Calories – Units of energy that measure the amount of energy food provides to the body. – Consuming more calories than the body needs can lead to weight gain.
Vegetables – Edible plants or parts of plants that are consumed as part of a meal. – Eating a variety of vegetables ensures that you get a wide range of nutrients.
Probiotics – Live bacteria and yeasts that are beneficial for digestive health. – Yogurt is a common source of probiotics that can help maintain a healthy gut flora.
Infection – The invasion and multiplication of microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, and parasites that are not normally present within the body. – Washing hands regularly can help prevent the spread of infection.
Chicken – A type of poultry that is often consumed as a source of protein. – Grilled chicken is a healthy option for adding protein to your diet.
Temptation – The desire to do something, especially something wrong or unwise. – The temptation to eat junk food can be strong, but choosing healthier options is better for your health.
