Science Continues to Answer the Hard Questions - Two Examples

Big, complicated Sciencey stuff....

1. The ‘Chicago rat hole’ sparked internet fervor in 2024. Now, scientists have found the culprit — www.cnn.com/…

Few city rats have left their mark on the public consciousness — and the urban landscape — like the one responsible for the famed “Chicago rat hole.” (“Pizza Rat” is a notable exception.)

But the Windy City’s “rat hole” may not be what it seems.
New research into the identity of the creature that caused a sidewalk imprint when it fell into freshly poured cement suggests the culprit is an entirely different city dweller.

Much lore surrounds the Chicago rat hole, also dubbed “Splatatouille” during a public naming contest.

No one seems to know when the mark first appeared in Chicago’s Roscoe Village neighborhood, but it’s believed to have been there for at least two to three decades. However, one tweet from Chicago artist, writer and comedian Winslow Dumaine on January 6, 2024, transformed it into a social media sensation: “Had to make a pilgrimage to the Chicago Rat Hole,” he shared in a post on X, along with a photo.

Everybody was like, ‘Why didn’t I pay attention to that before?’

Instead, Granatosky and his team made measurements of the rat hole using images taken of it, including from snout to tail, head width, the base of the tail and the length of the identifiable fingers and claws.

The team collected museum specimens for the brown rat, house mouse, Eastern grey squirrel, Eastern chipmunk, muskrat, white-footed mouse, fox squirrel and Southern flying squirrel, making anatomical measurements of each for statistical comparisons. The specimens ranged in age and size.

2. Scientists Reveal Foolproof Secret to Making a Perfect Cacio e Pepe — scitechdaily.com/…

A team of Italian scientists has uncovered why cacio e pepe often goes wrong, and how to get it right every time.

The beloved Italian pasta dish cacio e pepe is famous for two things: its rich, satisfying flavor and its notorious difficulty to prepare correctly. On the surface, the recipe seems straightforward, just three ingredients: pasta, Pecorino Romano cheese, and black pepper. However, anyone who has attempted to make it knows that achieving the ideal smooth, creamy sauce is easier said than done. All too often, the cheese seizes and clumps when mixed with hot pasta water, resulting in a lumpy, sticky texture instead of a silky emulsion.

In a study published in Physics of Fluids by AIP Publishing, researchers from the University of Barcelona, the Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, the University of Padova, and the Institute of Science and Technology Austria investigated the underlying physics of how cheese mixes with water. Their work pinpointed the precise mechanism that causes the sauce to curdle. Armed with these insights, the team formulated a scientifically sound, foolproof method for preparing cacio e pepe, ensuring that the final dish is as creamy and smooth as intended.

“Phase behavior of Cacio e Pepe sauce” by G. Bartolucci, D. M. Busiello, M. Ciarchi, A. Corticelli, I. Di Terlizzi, F. Olmeda, D. Revignas and V. M. Schimmenti, 29 April 2025, Physics of Fluids.
DOI: 10.1063/5.0255841

For future work, the researchers have an entire pantry full of ideas.

“There’s a recipe called pasta alla gricia, which is cacio e pepe plus guanciale, cured pork cheek,” said author Daniel Maria Busiello. “This recipe seems to be easier to perform, and we don’t know exactly why. This is one idea we might explore in the future.”

I think that everyone’s quality of life will be improved by this research.