8 More Science Facts To Make You Sound Clever At Parties

1. "The Milky Way Tastes Of Raspberries"

Maybe you're at a fancy party, maybe they're serving some kind of raspberry cheesecake deliciousness. If not, then you'll just have to find your own segue into this one. Anyway, The Milky Way tastes of raspberries. As in, the galaxy, the one made out of stars, not the chocolate bar (why are so many chocolate products named after cosmic objects?). Astronomers, in their noble search for life in the universe, fixed their telescopes on the great dust cloud at the centre of the galaxy to try and find out what it was made of. They discovered that the cloud contains quantities of ethyl formate, which just so happens to be the substance that gives raspberries their flavour. It is also the compound that gives rum its smell. So, altogether, our galaxy is like a giant cosmic French Mojito. Incidentally, you can also derive raspberry flavouring from the anal glands of a beaver. However, if there is someone at this party of yours that you have your eye on, I would neglect to mention this part. Now, it always helps to over-prepare, so be sure to check out parts one and two of "how to sound like a smug git at parties". Want to write for What Culture Science? Click here to find out how you could get paid to write about what you love.Hey, you, you look like the sociable type. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for more science in your eye parts.
 
Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

Writer. Raconteur. Gardeners' World Enthusiast.