nelliethehooker replied on 25/04/2024 21:53
Posted on 25/04/2024 21:53
Who doesn't love a marshmallow teacake, especially Tunnocks? Here is an interesting tale about the biscuit.
When Royal Air Force pilots discovered chocolate-coated marshmallow teacakes expanded at high altitudes, they became “the subject of some rather unscientific in-flight experiments” in the 1950s.
Air crews removed their silver foil packaging and perched them around the cabin for observation: The marshmallows swelled as pressure changed. Eventually, they became too big to eat in one bite.
Many noted that, despite the extreme physical effects, the expansion didn’t compromise the taste.
But the expanding teacakes’ fame was short-lived. After a period of marshmallow fever aboard the V-Bombers departing from Gaydon air base, an explosion put a stop to the fun.
During the summer of 1965, a captain and student pilot forgot they had placed unwrapped teacakes above their instrument panels. When the captain pulled an emergency depressurizing switch during a training mission, the treats erupted.
Shards of chocolate and marshmallow hit the windshield, flight controls, and the mens’ uniforms. Shortly thereafter, the RAF put marshmallows on their no-fly list.
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nelliethehooker
Caravanner from Cumberland