What did the baby corn say to the mommy corn?…..  “Where’s Pop Corn?”

And that funny joke brings me to the question of the day — Why does popcorn pop? To get the answer I went the really smart scientists of NASA (the space people) to find out. They said the secret is in the water…

“So just how does popcorn pop? Only popcorn kernels can pop, and the secret is water. Each kernel contains a small amount of water stored in a circle of soft starch inside the hard outer casing. When heated to around 450 degrees Farenheit, the moisture turns to steam, creating pressure within. As the pressure builds, the casing eventually gives way, and the kernel explodes and pops, allowing the water to escape as steam and turning the kernel inside out. If you have ever popped popcorn, you know that it explodes everywhere!”

I wonder if they’ve tried popping popcorn on the space shuttle!  You can learn more from the NASA website at www.NASA.gov .

Why doesn’t glue stick to the inside of the glue bottle?…

Glue is sticky stuff, so it seems like it would stick to the inside of the bottle. But if you do arts and crafts like I do, you know that white glue doesn’t stick until you get it outside the bottle - like when you put it on your fingers and let it dry, then peel it off. Now that’s fun!

I asked some questions and got some answers. Glue has water in it, and when we spread it on something we want glued outside the bottle, the water evaporates, which means it dries up and disappears into the air. When the water is all gone from the glue, the glue sticks.

When glue is in a closed bottle, the water can’t evaporate so the glue stays liquid. That’s why you have to close the lid, or else the glue will dry out and stick to the bottle.