Bobbing for apples seems like good, old-fashioned fun, but it's actually science!

Bobbing for apples is one of those things that people on TV do all the time, but I’ve never seen anyone have an apple bobbing station set up at any party I’ve ever been to, I guess because nobody wants to dunk their head into a tub of cold water in the middle of fall.  Either way, if you’re going to have a bobbing-for-apples station at YOUR party, but are having trouble choosing the type of apple to bob, you’re in luck.  A British cultivar called the Zari apple has been dubbed the perfect bobbing apple by Sainsbury’s, thanks to the complex mathematical formula developed by a researcher at University College London.

“Apple colour may not matter in itself but the skin toughness or texture is critical.  A soft skin can lean to excess bouncing and therefore less efficient bobbing, while a hard skin may mean an apple is difficult to bite into,” said Professor Frank Smith, UCL’s Goldsmid Professor of Applied Mathematics.  He also praised the Zari for its combination of buoyancy in water, texture, density, and exposed surface area for biting and ease of removal from the water.

Now, here in America, we’re not exactly overflowing with Zari apples, because we’re not Britain.  However, there’s no need to start importing apples by the boatload for the Halloween apple-bobbing season.  Sainsbury’s rival, Wm. Morrison, also conducted some research into bobbing apples and their formula has uncovered a different secret for apple success.  Wm Morrison swears by the humble, easy-to-find Gala apple thanks to its thin skin, firm but fruity flesh, and ability to bob.  So if you can’t find Zari, just grab a bag of Gala!

Tags: Sainsbury’s, Wm Morrison, Zari Apple, Gala Apple, best apple for bobbing, bobbing for apples, the perfect bobbing apple, unusual research, science, Halloween, Professor Frank Smith, the Goldsmid Professor of Applied Mathematics, UCL, University College London, England, unusual studies, weird science, best apple for bobbing for apples

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