h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Have you tried whacking the marmite with the polo in the dark until the marmite goes white and the polo breaks?

Maybe the little sparks that come off the polo will light the marmite?

Would try it straight away but the closest I've got at home is peanut butter and tic tacs.

It's not going to work, realistically.

Sprout

Ok guys, I've been off to the lab - sorry - kitchen:

It happens to Bovril too!!!!!!!!!

Bovril is a tad slower, but gives clear results. My side plate now looks like on of Rembrandt's pallette.

I don't have any vegemite, but I don't see why it wouldn't if it's of a similar consistency.

My other half, who knows more science than me, says it's all to do with diffraction - like when you shake a bottle of clear or translucent liquid, and it looks whiter and denser.

I don't know if I ever hought I'd say this, but I wish Hoo were here - I'm sure he'd have the gen...

Yeah, I've just been whacking my Marmite and got it to go a lovely caramelly, milky coffee colour.

After that, its texture changed and went all kind of stringy and sticky.

i got bored after it went the colour of peanut butter. then my mum came home and ate it. tastes exactly the same. there is, hwoever, a little left. we are leaving it to see if it rebrowns.

Yes, diffraction would be occurring at all those micro-fracture or structural change boundaries I mentioned earlier in the thread. When you shake or whisk something (eg egg-white) you are introducing tiny air-bubbles instead as the myriad of structural boundaries which diffract the light randomly and make the substance opaque (white).

i don't think I can take anymore.
just tel me, was the universe always this mad, or did it happen this morning?

2legs: There are cures for Arthur Dentism you know. They probably don't involve marmite but that doesn't mean you'll like them any better...

I still like to know how someone found out this wacking the marmite produced this response from teh marmite... Very worrying s off

2legs - just relax and go with the flow - it will all make some sort of sense eventually. This kind of thing does tend to happen a lot around here. I asked because I wanted to know.

It's certainly odd, though.

Oh, and I think I found out by reading it here!

Oh, this is exactly the type of conversation thread on here I like, just totally surreal yet strangely it all makes perfect sense

to report the good Captain the the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Marmite

It does work with V******e, a slightly confused relative brought us some back from Australia, and at last I've found a way of using it up It's in a very pretty koala-shaped jar, anybody know of any other uses I could put it too - as a confirmed Marmite lover!!?

You could throw it away and keep Marmite in the jar.

Or you could throw it away and just keep the jar as an ornament.

Or you could keep it, and beat it till it turns white whenever you feel so inclined

Yes, but does it rebrown so you can use it again and again? That would be handy. I think somebody said they were trying that out - was it Uncle Heavy?

Yes, it was.

nope, its been the colour and consistency of melted milk chocolate ice cream for several hours now...

How perculiar

Well marmite does flow rather slowly. If there's enough spare to split into 2 experimental subjects you could see what happens if you heat one of them - and I'm not talking about the use of garden flame-throwers or welding equipment here!

Otherwise it may be that some "permanent" protein reconfiguration or bonding has occurred - as with rubber or polythene. If these are stretched beyond their elastic limit the bonds shift and permanent deformation results. Clear polythene sheeting which has been deformed looks particularly colourful when light is viewed through a polarising filter too.

I haven't come up with anything worthwhile for vegemite - unless it is salty enough to kill slugs?

If you were in America, you could put Vegemite on things to prevent Americans from eating them.

My roommates are Australian and vegetarian, so they really like vegemite, even though I think it's strange and unappetizing. I make sure to put meat in everything I cook, just to make sure they don't eat my food. Even if I make something as simple as corn soup, I'll throw in a few small chunks of ground chicken just to make sure.