Hi, we're here from Curiosity.com to help you get smarter in just a few minutes. I'm Cody Gough.

And I'm Ashley Hamer.

Today you learn about why it's so hard to quietly unwrap candy and the Ford method for keeping conversations flowing.

We'll also answer a listener question about how the nutrients in food are calculated.

Let's satisfy some curiosity.

Here's some research that will hit pretty close to home if you saw a summer blockbuster this year,

or really if you've been to any theater lately.

Remember that climactic scene that captivated you up until the jerk in the row behind you

started unwrapping the little mylar bag in a box of raisinets at maximum volume.

Raisinets are delicious, but yeah, that rapper's kind of loud.

Yeah.

Well, according to research from the University of Chicago, it's physically

impossible to lower the volume of an unfolding candy wrapper. And the reason comes down to

Garden Variety Physics.

A 1996 study published in the journal Physical Review E

explained that it all comes down to energy.

Specifically, elastic potential energy.

That's the energy that's stored as a result of the deformation of an elastic object,

like the stretching of a guitar string as you pluck it.

If you crumple up a Mylar wrapper, every twist and crinkle you add loads it with elastic potential energy.

And once you unwrap it, it releases that energy, in the form of heat, vibrations in the material,

and of course, sound.

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