What is whipped cream?
Hey. I'm Melissa.
Jam:I'm Jam.
Melissa:And I'm a chemist. And I'm not. And welcome to chemistry for your life.
Jam:The podcast that helps you understand the chemistry of your everyday life.
Melissa:And today is part 2 in the dairy series. That's right. Dairy fat series, really.
Jam:Okay. Nice.
Melissa:Okay. But before we start, I have to confess my sins and make an apology.
Jam:Okay.
Melissa:Okay. So lastly
Jam:I forgive you. Thanks.
Melissa:That's so sweet. Before I even admit it. So last week, Clarissa came and asked us about the butter.
Jam:Oh, yes.
Melissa:And then Then I was pretty sure our other friend, who's a Brazilian. Right? He's from Brazil Biochemist?
Jam:Believe so.
Melissa:He is a biochemist. Uh-huh. And I thought he had asked about whipped cream, so I went back to look at his question about whipped cream. And, actually, he had asked word for word the exact same question that Clarissa had asked.
Jam:Oh my gosh. That's funny.
Melissa:So she asked milk, and he he specified cream.
Jam:Right.
Melissa:Right. Probably why I got confused.
Jam:Right.
Melissa:So then I went to our Gmail to see, like, did somebody else ask about whipping cream? So I typed in cream.
Jam:Uh-huh.
Melissa:And lo and behold, in an email from November of 2021, had already
Jam:Wow. Asked
Melissa:us about the butter situation.
Jam:Dang. Okay.
Melissa:So not only did I ignore that request, it got lost to the, emails of time. But also when someone else made it The same week that he remade it, I gave them all the credit and totally forgot.
Jam:Dang it.
Melissa:So I'm sorry. I messaged personally and apologize.
Jam:Nice. I saw a response come in. I was like, I don't know what that's about, but now it makes sense.
Melissa:Now you know.
Jam:Also, I love The the phrase, the emails of time, has come out of this scenario. There's at least 1 silver lining or 2. 1, we got the episode happened anyway.
Melissa:Yes.
Jam:Even though it was a little bit later, and Yes. And we didn't give him credit too, so we're doing that now. But then second, the emails of time.
Melissa:Emails of time. Yep. I'm glad you liked it. Yeah. It it just came out of nowhere.
Jam:It's sort of like the sands of time or
Melissa:Or the annals of time.
Jam:This idea of, like, things building up and covering up over history, like
Melissa:Yeah.
Jam:The fossils get covered.
Melissa:I mean, November of 2021 was a long time ago.
Jam:Oh, yeah.
Melissa:This is a long time ago.
Jam:Mhmm. I
Melissa:didn't even have a PhD then.
Jam:Me neither.
Melissa:You neither?
Jam:I still don't, but you know?
Melissa:Okay. So Then the 2nd part of that is I'm pretty sure that someone did ask me about whipped cream
Jam:Okay.
Melissa:Other than Kaiba, and I don't know who that person is. So if that's you and you're like, it was me. I was a question Chanasker, please let me know. Reach out. I searched our email.
Melissa:Couldn't find anything. I wish we could search Instagram inboxes. I don't know why that's a feature that doesn't exist, But it really should be, but it's not. So if that's you, let me know in the future.
Jam:So today's whipped cream, that you said?
Melissa:Today is whipped cream. We're gonna answer the question that I thought that he asked that maybe someone else asked.
Jam:Okay.
Melissa:Okay. So are you ready for it?
Jam:I'm ready. Let's do it.
Melissa:Okay. Let's do it. Okay. So just as a reminder that we know that in whole milk that comes Directly from the cow. There's water, protein, fat, vitamins, minerals, and sugar.
Melissa:Uh-huh.
Jam:And
Melissa:the sugar is lactose.
Jam:Right.
Melissa:Some people aren't intolerant of that. And then when it goes to, you know, a dairy processing plant, it gets pasteurized and separated out, The higher fat content is cream.
Jam:Okay.
Melissa:And we talked about in butter how there's well, I guess, we talked about to make butter In the cream layer that has a higher percent of fat in it, these individual fat globules, when they're manually Stirred will sort of break open and allow each other to find each other and interconnect, and make a solid butter.
Jam:Yeah.
Melissa:So whipped cream is basically butter that hasn't fully buttered yet.
Jam:Okay.
Melissa:It's like a Transient state between butter and cream.
Jam:Interesting.
Melissa:What do you know about whipped cream? Do you make it? Do you think about it ever?
Jam:I mean, I guess I have made it before. And I've used whipping cream and stuff, and sometimes I've had to actually whip it. Right? Yeah. But yeah.
Jam:I don't I think I kinda just thought it was the, like, Creating little bubbles of air Right. That was a secret. And I didn't I guess I probably would have guessed that there's not much Other stuff changing.
Melissa:There's definitely little bubbles of air in it. That's true. But there's little bubbles in air in lots of different water or lots of different liquids. So what do you think it is about the the the whipping cream that makes it not just be bubbles dissolved in the liquid?
Jam:There's more of them, and, also, the substance Is such where it can, like, handle the bubbles and keep them. Like, obviously, water On its own, you have bubbles in it, but they're they're kinda thin, and it might not support a structure of bubbles. Something about whipped cream Being different, probably the fat, allows if you create a bunch of bubbles that it can actually handle them and Have the bubble structure around
Melissa:Mhmm.
Jam:It or something without Yeah. Without just collapsing?
Melissa:That's really close. I I mean, you got most of the ideas. Good job.
Jam:What? I guess but what off the cuff, I can't figure out is, like, You know, I would think fat oils, that kind of stuff wouldn't Inherently be better at that, especially thinking like you think of that as heavier. You know? I mean, I think most of us would. Yeah.
Jam:I assume it's sort of heavier. Then you might think, okay. The chemical level, why wouldn't water be great at that? You know?
Melissa:That's a good question. I think the reason water isn't great at that is because it can't make an interlinked network.
Jam:Interlinked.
Melissa:So that's what we're gonna get into today. So that's a good that was a good, critical thinking to to guess what was happening. Good job. Whenever my students are like, oh, I just totally BS that. I'm like, did you BS that, or did you use the information you already have to draw a conclusion that's somewhat logical.
Jam:Right. Right.
Melissa:And that is just critical thinking.
Jam:Right. Which most might use that term kinda loosely. Like
Melissa:Mhmm.
Jam:But Taking an educated guess or taking a guess within all that I have is probably, yeah, more accurate. Go ahead.
Melissa:Yeah. Taking a Taking a guess with knowledge you have is not just BS ing. It's making an educated guess. It's using critical thinking skills. So that's what you just did.
Melissa:Good job.
Jam:Nice. Okay.
Melissa:Okay. So whipped cream is a foam, and foams are essentially just dispersions of gas in liquid.
Jam:K.
Melissa:It's usually prepared using a foaming agent. That's a dispersion of gas in a liquid prepared using a foaming agent. It's a direct quote from one of our sources. And in this case, it is air that's dispersed among the contents of the cream. Right?
Melissa:Just like you said. But there is something that gives it a structure. And, initially, I I found this really cool paper from 1986 that It was kinda spicy. It was like okay. So they took a is it a scanning electron microscope to look at The structure of the cream as it was forming.
Melissa:So, like, the literal title of the paper is the development of no. That's a different one. It's Oh, sorry. I lost it. The development of structure in whipped cream.
Jam:Okay.
Melissa:So it literally talks about How does the structure get there? Which is a gold mine. I was so excited to find it. It's kind of an older paper, but in the paper, he talked about it kind of seemed like he was throwing a little bit of shade. Like Mhmm.
Melissa:Well, up till now, we've looked at the final structure, and that's great, but it doesn't really tell us how things happen. We're just kind of making assumptions, Which is is such a niche, high drama situation.
Jam:Yeah.
Melissa:Like, in that academic community, I'm betting when that came out, people were kinda mad I don't know. Maybe. That's what I like to imagine. Uh-huh. They they're like, we you know, we thought we knew.
Melissa:We were just doing the best we had with what we had, whatever. And he's like, I got that was my imagination. It's like a high level of niche drama. Uh-huh. Just a little bit of academic spice.
Melissa:You know? But, essentially, he looks at He, like well, would I think he would freeze a sample and look at it under a scanning electron microscope after, like, 10 seconds, 20 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds of whipping cream.
Jam:Uh-huh.
Melissa:And what he actually found is, you know, there's already air dispersed in milk. Right. And so what makes it different or in cream, what makes this different is first, it seems like The air bubbles are actually stabilized with the protein in
Jam:milk. Okay.
Melissa:So they kinda get protein coming around the outside of the air bubbles. And you remember we talked about how the protein in milk is kind of cool?
Jam:Yes.
Melissa:It's like acts as what they call an emulsifying agent, which allows for, the emulsion to form, like, allows the mixing of oil and water.
Jam:Right. Right.
Melissa:And so in this case, it seemed like That protein forms at the interface between the air and the water or the protein, like, takes up takes up a spot. At the interface between the air and the water or the the cream content. And for some reason, that is the key step to then allow the fat to come and interact at the interface between the air bubble, This water, air membrane type of thing Uh-huh. And surround it.
Jam:Okay.
Melissa:And It's the same thing that happens in butter where these individual flat fat globules initially in the 1st 10 to 20 seconds, they're minding their own business still, And the air bubbles are starting to, you know, be surrounded by proteins, and then the fat is able to as it starts to break open from those globules and interact with each other. It starts to surround the air bubbles with the protein acting almost as a bridge And then interlinking, so it's forming those. I think it's intermolecular forces, but it could be one source did say crosslinking, which would indicate Maybe an actual bonding, but I think it's more intermolecular forces to kind of make a network. And so it reminded me of The visual I have in my head is almost like, you know, when people zoom in on your brain and they have all the, like, little neurons connected and it's like this whole big network?
Jam:Mhmm.
Melissa:Or, like, it looks like a bunch of string all over the place. You know, things like that. Yeah. I and imagine I imagine it looking like that. But, actually, in this paper, there are pictures of it developing, which is so cool, from the scanning electron microscope.
Melissa:But, Essentially, you can envision an air bubble with a protein film around it. And then around that, a fat layer with tendrils, you know, coming out and connecting to other fat layers that are surrounding other air bubbles. Uh-huh. So they all start to interconnect and form a some somewhat of a structure. Interesting.
Melissa:So it is very much like the 1st stage in what's going to happen to the butter Right.
Jam:Right.
Melissa:Is that butter forms that interlocking network. But in butter, a lot of the air bubbles are collapsed and the Fat molecules are closer together.
Jam:Right. Right.
Melissa:So it is very similar to butter, but it just isn't butter yet.
Jam:Yeah. Interesting. I guess here's a question I have off the top of my head that maybe is an obvious answer, but is this So the fact the protein allows the water and the fat oil to, like, interact
Melissa:Mhmm.
Jam:Is that basically the same reason then that a network of bubbles can form in soap Where soap can interact with, this is not a protein, but it can interact with both water and Oil and create a some structure that can hold bubbles? Or I guess you don't need the oil though.
Melissa:You're asking
Jam:To create soap. You just need Water and soap.
Melissa:You're asking about the bubbles and soap, like bubble bath, like where all those bubbles come from.
Jam:Correct.
Melissa:That's a really good question.
Jam:Those are the 2 bubbliest things I know of. You know? And I've been able to like, when I clean my milk frother thing, I could put soap some water and some soap in it and just run it on no heat, and And it just, like, mixes around and makes this really fine
Melissa:taste. Satisfying.
Jam:It looks tasty, but it is soap, so I'm not gonna drink it.
Melissa:Also looks like whipped cream, but it's soap. Yes. Wow. I never thought about what makes the bubbles like, What in soap allows you to have that, like, contain the bubbles, basically? Wow.
Melissa:Thank you for asking that.
Jam:Maybe we can put in a q and r.
Melissa:Maybe so, or maybe we can make a whole episode about it.
Jam:There we go.
Melissa:Yeah. Because what makes those suds? What makes sudsiness? Surely, that's somebody studied that.
Jam:Yeah. Surely.
Melissa:There's a lot of different types of chemistry, like surface chemistry. You know, I'm saying, oh, there's, like, these air bubbles, and they're surrounded by protein. There are people who study the interface between the air and the liquid that really creates the bubble. But I didn't feel like that was super valuable for us to get into today. That was a really good question.
Jam:I thought it was gonna be, like, more on topic than it was. Or as I started asking it, I thought I started realizing like, oh, but you don't have to have oil present. So it's not like it's like The same thing
Melissa:Yeah.
Jam:Just changing out the milk protein for a soap molecule. Suddenly, I realized it wasn't quite the same.
Melissa:I mean, I do think that there's something in the soap that Does capture air because, I have done an experiment called elephant's toothpaste. You've done it too.
Jam:Yes.
Melissa:And It basically is a rapid release of air that gets trapped kind of in the soap, and that then then that makes it foam up like that. You know? Yeah. And so I'm assuming that the principles underlying that are very similar. It's like the air very small air bubbles are suspended in this liquid, but I guess I don't it's like I can't in my mind.
Melissa:A lot of times what I do to answer questions is I zoom in to the molecular level. Mhmm. And I'm having a hard time zooming into the molecular level and thinking about what is happening in soapy bubbles.
Jam:Yeah.
Melissa:I'll have to think about it more.
Jam:Sweet.
Melissa:That's a good question. I think that's a good episode for another day. So let me find my place here where we are. Sorry. Sorry.
Melissa:Okay. No. That was really good. Okay. So I will say the protein part happens for the 1st 20 to 30 seconds, and then the proteins to act as a bridge that allows the fat globules to start to connect Okay.
Melissa:And, interact with the air bubbles.
Jam:K.
Melissa:So they facilitate the linking of the of the air bubbles together essentially via fat. You're just, like, locking these air bubbles into place
Jam:Uh-huh.
Melissa:With fat or into near each other. And one source phrased it I think they described it well. It's air cells surrounded by a film containing fat droplets that are stabilized by a film of protein. And there's some clumping of the flat fat globules around the air cell of the foam, and the fat is partially solidified, which prevents it from collapsing.
Jam:Okay.
Melissa:So, basically, you have an air bubble. It's surrounded by fat, but also there's some protein that helps the fat be where it is. Uh-huh. And then the fat starts to, connect with each other.
Jam:Uh-huh.
Melissa:They start to clump, and then That fat that has started to become solidified because of the clumping helps it keep its shape. Okay. So, essentially, the fat is the stabilizing agent in the air dispersed in the cream.
Jam:Okay.
Melissa:Okay?
Jam:That makes sense.
Melissa:So that's basically what whipped cream is. It's just a film with air bubbles that are able to interact with proteins and then interact with fat using intermolecular forces, and then they are stabilized, and that's whipped cream.
Jam:Dang. Wow.
Melissa:But I will say the reliance on fat for the structure is why it you can't let whipped cream get too
Jam:hot Right.
Melissa:Because the fat will melt Yeah. And, you know, go to its liquid state, 1. And then 2, the fat being relied on for the the structure means that if you use colder things
Jam:Uh-huh.
Melissa:It will let the molecules move around less, And so they will be more solid when they're in their their whipped form. So if you use, like, a cold bowl and a cold beater or a cold whisk, That can help the, interlinking process happen faster, which is counterintuitive because normally when we want molecules to interact with each other more, we put Heat in to move around more
Jam:Uh-huh.
Melissa:Or manually moving it around, and then the cold is making the fat go from being liquidy to being solid. Mhmm. It's almost like you're almost freezing the fat. So that's why it helps it solidify. It doesn't really help the Chemical processes as much as the physical going from a liquid to a solid.
Jam:Right. Right.
Melissa:And so that's it. I thought that was interesting.
Jam:I've also heard something similar on the in the coffee world talking about their frothing milk, which wouldn't be making whipped cream, but is
Melissa:Mhmm. Some of
Jam:the same things at play That the heat thing makes a big difference, and you gotta be really careful not to go too hot when you're trying to steam milk Yeah. And froth it and stuff like that. It's kind of a sweet spot. Like, obviously, for a hot drink, you want it to be warm Yeah. But you just can't go too warm Yeah.
Jam:Where it really changes things, and you can't get a good, Like, froth and stuff. So that kind of connects to something I'd from a, you know, different part of my brain.
Melissa:Yeah. Well and one of our listeners, I think her name is Lynn, wrote in Also about being a coffee lover and and asking questions about why Why you have to use what you use when you texturize milk, but I don't remember what it was. So I was like, oh, that would be really good for our dairy series, but then you know? Yeah. And I haven't researched it anymore.
Jam:I also heard that if you get too hot, they can affect the proteins too.
Melissa:Denature it, And I think that's curdling. Right?
Jam:Oh, yeah. Maybe so.
Melissa:Think denatured proteins as curdled milk Think.
Jam:Well, I think you can boil milk at a under proteins without curdling, but it wouldn't be able to be frothed.
Melissa:So there's another thing that we can add is what's the curdle. Yeah. Because sometimes I will say, like, oh, my whipped cream is Curdling, but that's when it, like, looks like it's about to be butter.
Jam:Right. Right. Right.
Melissa:So maybe Curdle is a specific thing where proteins get denatured and then clump back together in a different way.
Jam:Right. Right.
Melissa:Who knows? Look at all these questions coming up today.
Jam:So many things How about milk and cream
Melissa:Uh-huh.
Jam:And whipped cream?
Melissa:So many things.
Jam:Yeah. And bubbles.
Melissa:Lots of things. I will say, though, if you Keep whipping whipped cream more and more before you add any sugar or anything. The fat globules will keep finding sugar more and more, and the bubbles will either collapse Or they'll be somewhat suspended in the in the suspension that is butter.
Jam:Got it. Got it. Okay.
Melissa:So that's why I say whipped cream is like a transient state because it's not really solid, and it's not made to last indefinitely. It needs these, like, special conditions to form and stay formed. And if you go too far, then boom. It's better. And if you don't go far enough, then it's just kind of like Airy liquid.
Jam:Right. Right.
Melissa:It's not quite reached that stabilized film yet. Like, people say, like, the stiff peaks. You know? Yeah. Interesting.
Melissa:That's what I that's what I learned.
Jam:Stay at school.
Melissa:Yeah. Do you wanna take a stab at staying it back to me? I mean, there's not, like, a specific chemistry lesson. It's more like part 2 from last week's chemistry lessons.
Jam:But it's helpful too because, like, I like that so many things were similar.
Melissa:Mhmm.
Jam:Because it also helps me remember and keep fresh. So what we talked about last week. But I yeah. So, basically, we talked about that on going from cream to butter requires helping break up the fat globules Mhmm. Allow more fat to find each other, And there's still gonna be some of the, like, other liquid, like the waters, but that in involved in that, and the protein helps them stay together in the 1st place.
Melissa:Mhmm.
Jam:But when we get butter, we we still have some of that in there, but we've allowed more and more fat to find each other and form into a solidified You know, more soul more solidified thing. Yeah. And what we're kinda doing with with whipped cream is is Stopping in the middle there in a crucial point where some of the globules been able to be broken up.
Melissa:Mhmm.
Jam:And some of the fat has been able to find each other Mhmm. Enough to have A structure that's that's good enough to to hold bubbles and be connected to each other Kinda loosely without being a huge clump, a huge clump. Mhmm. But just enough where it can still like, air could still be trapped in there and it not just falling on itself. And the protein still is allowing sort of fat and And water to interact, and all the other stuff is in there, sugar and stuff like that.
Melissa:Yeah.
Jam:And if you get it in the sweet spot, then it's in this perfect scenario where Where it's not too liquidy
Melissa:Yeah.
Jam:Like it was as it was just cream and not too buttery either, As in the sweet spot, Rick can suspend a bunch in of not suspend in a chemistry sense, but, like, can Hold a bunch of air bubbles.
Melissa:Right. That's suspend. Oh, okay.
Jam:Yeah. I think that suspension was like a another term you if you used about, like, Dissolve sort of dissolving things, but not
Melissa:Maybe.
Jam:Anyway, not not to not a rabbit trail. I was trying to go down, but create a structure that holds all that air in there
Melissa:Yeah.
Jam:And has a big fluffy takes a lot more space and can do that without falling in on itself. Yeah. And without being liquid and without being butter.
Melissa:If you think about it, it's so complicated because it's like, is this a fluid? Like, is this a liquid, or is this a solid? It's more on the liquid side. You know? And and it has a Underlying structure that it's like, this isn't this isn't a solid, but it has a underlying structure that usually, liquids don't have.
Jam:Right.
Melissa:And so it is this, like, weird transition between solid and liquid that we're able to temporarily freeze and eat, and it's delicious.
Jam:Yeah. It is delicious, and there's something so pleasing about It being between states like that. Yeah. It's like, I think, obviously often a lot of us do chase something that's sort of novel or whatever, and it's like, woah. This is Different.
Jam:There's no surprise to me that somebody who discovered this at one point was like, hey. This is cool. Let's find a use for, like, this Not quite butter, not but not liquid anymore
Melissa:Yeah.
Jam:Substance.
Melissa:Let's add sugar to it. Yeah.
Jam:But it's like it's it's the foaminess is just kind of pleasing.
Melissa:Yeah. It is pleasing.
Jam:But which is weird, but it is.
Melissa:There was even a scientific paper where it said it's a extremely pleasing texture, I think, is the case. It was really funny. I was working with a friend of mine, and I was preparing this, and I was like, I'm gonna read you this sentence. It was this big, jargony sentence, and all it meant was If you whip dairy products, oftentimes, you can incorporate air, and it will be stabilized. But it was, like, so
Jam:Like, it's a roundabout way of doing music.
Melissa:I was like, y'all need to get over yourselves and just write in normal language.
Jam:Also, I love that this the say the phrase again. Pleasing
Melissa:Extremely pleasing texture, I think.
Jam:I I love that because you can't really prove that. Nope. Because you could prove that it is pleasing to a specific individual. Yeah. Yeah.
Jam:But I like that It's like you can talk about the novelness of something
Melissa:Yeah. I wonder if I could find it again.
Jam:Unique, but, like, you really can't go quite so far as to say. It is the texture is pleasing. You know? You could say the texture is
Melissa:Well, I don't think they referenced it. I think they said that it was a pleasing or a satisfying or something textured, but there's no reference. Like Yeah. We're trying to prove it.
Jam:Right. Right. Right. Yeah.
Melissa:We're just stating it and assuming nobody's gonna fight us
Jam:on this.
Melissa:I also wonder if they have to use more of the, like, Somewhat fancy language to be taken seriously as dairy scientist. Like, I wonder maybe not. Maybe dairy science is like a whole field that I just haven't really been exposed to. And Mhmm. I mean, I was thinking about how complex All the different interfaces are and how much there's still to learn.
Melissa:Yeah. But who knows? Who knows? I was like, just Speak in plain language, please.
Jam:Seriously.
Melissa:So that we don't have to translate this into layman's terms.
Jam:Right. It's like you're being you guys are being so serious. You're really Lacting in Oh, no. Normal normal everyday speak. You know?
Melissa:No. That wasn't a good joke. I'm not I won't laugh at that. You can laugh for the both of us. Okay.
Melissa:Well, that's it. That's all I have for us this week. Do you have any, anything fun that you'd like to share about what happened in your week?
Jam:Yes. This is, a one I've been meaning to share, and I think I forgot a couple of times that it's, like, not that cool.
Melissa:Mhmm.
Jam:But it's something else. Like, this is funny and interesting, and and it might be something that other people would be interested into. But I, Over the past few weeks at some point, was recommended on YouTube to watch a video from a British show that I feel like I'd heard about at some point, but, like, couldn't really remember where or when. But the show is called Taskmaster. You heard the show?
Melissa:Oh, I think Mason likes that show.
Jam:Yeah. I think Mason and I get recommended some similar stuff sometimes.
Melissa:Yeah. I think so.
Jam:The algorithms are similar. But it is this very ridiculous shot. I've watched many clips now at this point where the, premise is simply that, like, there's this sort of character who is the task master who, like, gives
Melissa:Okay.
Jam:Somewhat ridiculous tasks to the people who are competing on the show, and they're all comedians.
Melissa:Did Rhett and Link play this game?
Jam:I have no idea.
Melissa:I think they might have. I think that's where I heard it.
Jam:But it's I think it started in, like, the late 2000s from right then. Like, comedian started it, and then he Always has comedians be on it. Yeah. And so the task will be one of them it was so great. So they're all competing individually and filming individually
Melissa:Yeah.
Jam:Their attempts, and then they show them all later.
Melissa:Yes. Yes. Rhett and Link have been doing this.
Jam:It happens. Yes.
Melissa:The test has
Jam:to decide who who did it best or worse or whatever. And so and get points accordingly. One of them was like, they they all arrive, and they they had just an envelope that's sealed, and they open it, and they just have to do what the task says.
Melissa:Yes.
Jam:They can't get any other information other than what's on the task?
Melissa:Yes.
Jam:And one of them just oh, they open it, and it says, get Goosebumps. Fastest wins. So they had to just find a way to get Goosebumps.
Melissa:I would have, like, Googled and or tried to find a Goosebumps book.
Jam:Yes.
Melissa:But I guess that would have taken a long time.
Jam:Someone did that. They got a Goosebumps book. They were like they went to the library real quick, something like that.
Melissa:Real quick.
Jam:But they thought, like
Melissa:Did they lose? Because other people just got goosebumps on their arm.
Jam:Well, some people kept trying things for, like Like, an hour and couldn't, like, make this a good goosebumps.
Melissa:Yeah. Because it's an involuntary reaction.
Jam:Another one was that I just watched was, you know, Sneeze. Whoever sneezes fastest wins. It's like, that's another one. It's like, you could kinda make yourself do it, but it's pretty unpleasant.
Melissa:It is unpleasant.
Jam:Or there's things like build a bridge that so can support a potato Yeah. With these objects. Just a lot of random things, and I've been getting so much joy in many clips on on YouTube. So if you're someone who wants a little bit of, you know, British humor in your day And likes watching comedian to do dumb things, and stuff, then this show may be something that you enjoy.
Melissa:Or you can watch the Rhett and Link version. There's only 2 episodes, I think, where they did it, but they were also hilarious.
Jam:I need to watch that. I had no idea. I like Rhett and Link, so I had no idea these 2 things Overlap.
Melissa:Not called red and link. You could watch the good mythical morning episode.
Jam:Right. Right.
Melissa:I don't know. I don't know. I only call them red and
Jam:So that is the, you know, weird little thing that's been happening in my life lately.
Melissa:That's good.
Jam:What about you?
Melissa:This is a really dumb one. I I was like, there's so much good stuff that's happening in my life, Leeli. I'm really enjoying kickboxing. I'm starting this, like, fitness challenge where it's like, oh, if you get steps, you get points. If you eat enough protein, if you eat, like, you know, enough vegetables, whatever.
Melissa:Uh-huh. So that's fun. I like to gamify everyday life activities, so that's, like, a fun thing.
Jam:Nice.
Melissa:But the thing that I was like, this has made me really excited. In Every single person I've seen, I've told them about it right away.
Jam:Uh-huh.
Melissa:Is I bought some shoes? And listen. I know you don't hear a ton about material things. But
Jam:I mean, I probably I'm just picky about which material I care about.
Melissa:Well, and that's
Jam:why I
Melissa:think you'll appreciate this.
Jam:Yeah. I'm definitely not, what's the word, Completely.
Melissa:You're not trying to buy all the shoes.
Jam:I'm not untethered from material reality Right.
Melissa:Of course. Yet. So so I got shoes for my wedding, and, I don't know if my feet have widened maybe because I've, like, gained weight or something. Uh-huh. But also, I think part of this because I buy shoes online a lot, and I wore them for my whole wedding day, but I have not to wear them since.
Melissa:Yeah. They just hurt my feet.
Jam:Oof.
Melissa:And so I don't have any really nice shoes. And so Our friend, Andrea Uh-huh. Was wearing these, like you know, they're Toms brands, but they're, like, wedges, so they looked nicer. I was like, those look comfy. I'll go get them.
Melissa:So I went to A shoe store nearby here, and they they were cutting into my ankle. And I was like, what is wrong with me that shoes, like the literal comfiest shoes don't fit
Jam:Yeah.
Melissa:Or don't feel good? And so I tried on all these shoes, and none of them felt good. I sent a picture of 1 that looked that felt good, but looked like very grandma y to our friend. Uh-huh. And she was like, yeah.
Melissa:You can't buy You're not grandma yet. I was like, dang it. So then I I was about to give up because I had to go to kickboxing. And as I was walking out, I saw these shoes That they were they're yellow, which I really like yellow shoes. If you're watching the YouTube, I'm wearing yellow shoes now.
Melissa:I like a pop of color in my shoe.
Jam:Yeah.
Melissa:And I and they look like they would be very uncomfortable because they're, like, platform heels.
Jam:Uh-huh.
Melissa:And I like, You know, wedges that are kinda flat?
Jam:Uh-huh. But I
Melissa:was like, I've tried it on a 100 other pairs of shoes. I might as well try these on. And they were the only ones other than the grandma shoes that didn't hurt my
Jam:Wow.
Melissa:And they're so cute, and I and Mason doesn't know what they look like yet. I'm gonna surprise him on a date that we have this weekend, and I'm so excited. And, yeah, I saw it's kind of a small victory, but sorry. For people on YouTube, I guess you could see me. I waved because Jam's Wi Fi across the window.
Melissa:But it's kind of a small victory, but to find shoes that fit and feel good, and I wore them around this morning while I was getting ready to make sure that they really would work for a whole date night.
Jam:Yeah.
Melissa:They're awesome.
Jam:That's great.
Melissa:They were so comfy, and I think it's because I've been buying my shoes online. I think I forgot during COVID that you, like, you should go places and try on shoes.
Jam:Yeah. And The testing out part is so hard to do.
Melissa:Because the shoes that I've loved that have lasted a long time and been high quality, I've ordered high quality shoes, but they just don't quite fit right? Yep. But I'll take it from other people. They're like, oh, this fits my feet great. Yeah.
Melissa:Don't do that. Try on shoes. Yeah. Miss, especially if you have a wider foot like me, it was so great. And those the 1st pair should have been really comfortable.
Melissa:They looked really comfortable. The sole was really comfortable. It's just It cut weird into my heel. Yeah. Anyway, so I was really, really excited.
Melissa:There's lots of good things happening in my life right now, but it's still that's been one thing that I wanna tell everyone.
Jam:Yeah.
Melissa:I'm like, I found these shoes. They're so cute, and I can't wait to wear them and surprise Mason with them.
Jam:And they actually fit and feel good.
Melissa:They fit and they feel good.
Jam:That's good.
Melissa:Because I won't wear them if they don't fit and feel good. Yeah. I had
Jam:the opposite problem a few years ago where I finally discovered that my feet are really narrow, and I just had no idea. But then if I look at my feet, I'm like, duh. I just didn't know. Yeah. And I don't really, like, think I mean, it's something that kinda thing you can think about comparing to other people, because also Yeah.
Jam:People have bigger feet than me. All feet are different.
Melissa:Yeah.
Jam:It has never really occurred to me that I'm like, oh, yeah. My feet are narrow and weird. And
Melissa:Everybody's feet are different, so you just
Jam:Yeah. But it's to a point where it matters about which shoes I get and stuff, and it just took me forever to realize it. And now it's helped. Kinda unlock some stuff. But still, it's like, yeah, the trying on stuff or the getting the wrong shoes and having to figure out the hard way has happened to me a bunch of times where I just I'll Have to tighten them a lot Yeah.
Jam:Because of my little
Melissa:Mine is, like, the this part right here, like, the The box right before your toes, I guess, is I don't know. Is that called toe box? That part is wide. And I I like on Sperry's and stuff. Like, that part would kinda bow out, but I think Maybe maybe with gaining weight and maybe with COVID, my tolerance for not being comfortable
Jam:Yeah.
Melissa:Went down. And so, like, Shoes that I used to wear and think were comfortable, I they're not comfortable now. Like, I had a pair of Chocos for a really long time that It was, like, 1 summer I could wear them, and the next summer, they hurt my feet.
Jam:Dang it. That's annoying.
Melissa:So, you know, I don't know. Yep. But I found them, and, I guess I can post a picture of them online if y'all want.
Jam:Can you say or should we pronounce the brand, or do we care? Does it matter?
Melissa:I don't even know the brand. Oh. Is it, like, Mark Mark Anthony or something like that? I don't know. They're it's not a brand I've heard of before, but they seem to be high quality.
Melissa:They're at a place where most are high quality.
Jam:So Cool. Cool.
Melissa:And they seem like they'll last a long time, and I'm so excited. And it's the 1st time I've bought new shoes. Well, like, since my wedding for heels, but even before that, I got Them has hand me downs from friends.
Jam:Oh, yeah.
Melissa:I think it's the 1st time I've bought new nice heels other than my wedding in, like, 5 years. Yeah.
Jam:Dang. That's awesome.
Melissa:I'm really about that. That's a big win for me.
Jam:It's a simp simple things like that that are essential though because we have to wear shoes every day. So we
Melissa:have to wear shoes. And sometimes you're expected to look a certain level of nice in your and I just haven't had that
Jam:option. Yep.
Melissa:I did wear Teva's with a dress to a wedding recently.
Jam:Nice.
Melissa:And I It was really comfortable, but it was not the most stylish option. Yeah. Okay. That's it. Was my lesson for today and my happy thing for this week, and I'm really thankful to our listeners who wrote in with those questions and The mystery person who asked about whipped cream, and to you for letting me come and teach you about whipped cream.
Jam:And thank you for teaching us. And like Melissa said, thank you guys for the ideas. The best episode ideas come from you guys. Like, how does cream become butter? Where does whipped cream come from?
Jam:How does it make that all that kind of stuff. You have a question or idea of something you think might be chemistry, please don't hesitate to reach out to us on our website atchemforyourlife.com. That's chem, for your life.com to share your thoughts and ideas. If you'd like to help us keep our show going and contribute to cover the cost of making it, Go to patreon.com/kem for your life, or tap the link in our show notes or the description to join our super cool community of patrons. If you're not able to do that, you can still help us by subscribing on our favorite podcast app or on YouTube and rating and writing a review on Apple Podcasts.
Jam:That also helps us to share chemistry with even more people.
Melissa:This episode was made possible nope. This episode of chemistry free life was created by Melissa Colini and Jam Robinson, and Jam Robinson is our producer. This episode was made possible by our financial supporters over on Patreon. It means so much to us that you want to help make chemistry accessible to even more people. And those supporters are Aushai B, Brie M, Brian K, Chris Sinclair S, Chelsea B, Derek L, Emerson W, Hunter R, Jacob T, Christina G, Lynn S, Melissa P, Nicole C, Steven B, Shadow, Susan s, Timothy p, and Venus r, thank you again for everything you do to make chemistry free life happen.
Melissa:It means so much to us that you're willing to support us and make chemistry accessible to more people.
Jam:And if you like to learn more about today's chemistry lesson, check out the references for this episode in our show notes or in the description of the video.
Melissa:Yay, chemistry.
