Chasing Cheerios

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Knotted Bones

O and I recently completed a science experiment in which we soaked a chicken bone in a jar of vinegar until it was bendable. The directions said to soak the bone for a week, but our bone wasn't bendable after a week.  We put it on the countertop and forgot about it for several weeks. 



Elliott got tired of seeing it and asked if he could throw it away, so we tried it out again before throwing it away.  Sure enough, it was bendable!  We tried to tie it in a knot, but it wasn't long enough.    O was excited to bend it, but ready to wash her hands afterwards...it was kind of gross (I was glad I didn't have to touch it). 


2 comments:

  1. Interesting. Though vinegar/acid obviously breaks down something in the bone that makes it bendable,acid will actually preserve the skin of beans. (example: when I freeze beans, I add a little lemon juice so the beans won't be mush when they are thawed). Adding a base (like baking soda) will break down the skin, and is recommended if you're cooking beans for something like a bean dip (so they're mushy).

    Only tangentially related to this science experiment :)

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