🌅 Collapsing Fruit and Triggering Rockslides

SOURCE

Rojas et al. (2023)

WHAT TO KNOW

• Apples, oranges, grapefruit, you name it; if humankind can stack it, your local grocer will too. But, when it comes to removing your chosen fruit from the choreographed pile, knowing exactly how much can be taken before triggering a collapse turns out to be a surprisingly complicated question. It turns out about 10% of the pile can be removed before the entire display comes tumbling down.

WHY IT MATTERS

• Collapsing fruit displays in grocery stores help scientists understand the dynamics that produce rockslides and avalanches in nature. The displays are arranged in a nonrandom, crystal-like form, with objects that are roughly the same size, making it easier to study the impact of removing one object on the overall structure.

CONNECT THE DOTS

• The connection between sloped displays of fruit and the dynamics of rockslides isn’t readily apparent, representing just one example of obscure, fundamental science shedding light on broader phenomena and potentially leading to lasting innovation. Today’s popular weight-loss drugs, like Ozempic and Mounjaro, are another example, stemming from a discovery involving lizard venom and diabetic mice.