Perfectly spherical ice
Dig this: A Japanese company called Taisin has developed a machine which makes perfectly round balls of ice, according to CScout Japan.
The idea is, since round ice has less surface space, it melts slower than regular square ice.
I think it's awesomely ridiculous.
I mean, how can you make the perfect drink without perfectly round ice?
Bam! I think my head just exploded.
This reminds me of the "hot ice" scene from Rookie of the Year. It's at the 1:55 minute mark on this video.
(Photo from CScout Japan)
Erik Maza is a features reporter at the Baltimore Sun. He writes for several sections of the Sun paper and contributes weekly columns on music and nightlife. He also writes and edits the Midnight Sun blog. He often covers entertainment, business, and the business of entertainment. Occasionally, he writes about Four Loko, The Block, the liquor board, and those who practice "
Comments
Doesn't it also defeat the purpose of ice, which is to cool a drink? The fact that it has less surface area also means less of the ice is in contact with your drink, meaning your drink cools more slowly. This is why shaved ice cools a drink fastest ...
Posted by: Eric | May 27, 2008 9:17 AM
Interesting, they found a way to make cooling a drink an upscale science.
Posted by: GDA | May 27, 2008 4:22 PM
This is as perfect a Japanese innovation as the square watermelon. How many of us are tired of fumbling with bulky round melons? I for one, am.
Posted by: bryaninTimonium | May 27, 2008 4:32 PM
Hey Eric,
It's not really the surface area that is the problem, it is that with cubes, pyrimids, and other flat surfaced objects you have corners which melt faster than the whole.
Spheres (of the same volume) actually have more surface area than cubes... which is a good thing for whiskey drinkers...
Damn I wish I had some Oban right now...
Otter
Posted by: Otter | May 28, 2008 12:27 PM
Hmmm... didn't I send you an email about this on May 22? Of course I forgot to add my blog name, so you had no way of knowing.
Posted by: Owl Meat Gravy | May 31, 2008 6:05 PM
Naw, it's surface area. The sphere has the least surface area of any shape for a given mass. That's why bubbles are spherical. A cube of the same mass as a sphere will have more surface area.
Posted by: Owl Meat Gravy | May 31, 2008 8:05 PM
Eight bucks from the MOMA store. I got some a couple of years ago in NYC. It generally blows people's minds.
http://www.momastore.org/museum/moma/ProductDisplay_Spherical%20Ice%20Tray_10451_10001_27651
Posted by: Rock Chicklet ♫♣♀♫ | May 31, 2008 8:14 PM