Nailing Jelly to a Wall

November 30th, 2006

For a long time I’ve been an admirer of basic science. I like to remember that science isn’t all about expensive labs and particle accelerators. In fact, everyday people can embrace the scientific method and advance the field of human knowledge from their own homes. So I’m starting a new category: Science Punks.

Whilst punk science is often a derisory term, I’m claiming “science punk” as a positive one. Kinda what New Scientist might look like if it was put together with safety scissors, UHU glue and bad photocopying. And nothing is more punk than people doing it for themselves.

Our first Punk is Graeme Cole, an aspiring pedant and publisher of the excellent study, “Nailing Jelly to a Wall: Is It Possible?”.

We’ve all heard the old saying “it’s like nailing jelly to a wall” to describe a task that is very difficult or impossible. But is our view of the difficulty of this task justified? Has anybody actually tried nailing jelly to a wall? In this experiment I attempt to establish, one way or the other, the validity of the old proverb.

See the results…

Entry Filed under: Science Punks

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