Ian Black, host of the new National Geographic show Duck Quacks Don’t Echo, proposes that four ceramic mugs can hold up the weight of a Ford F-150 on the first episode of the series. The truck weighs approximately 4,800 pounds. Yeah, we thought is was a crazy hypothesis too, until it was done before our very eyes in the video here.
Black explains to the audience that the atoms in ceramic mugs are held together by inflexible chemical bonds. The bond becomes brittle in situations with un-even tension; like when you drop a coffee mug at home and it breaks. On the other hand, when compression is evenly distributed ceramic is super strong.
The 4,800 pound Ford F-150 is lowered onto four mugs surrounded with protective glass, just in case something happens. To our amazement, Black’s hypothesis was true. He then invites six audience members on to the stage and they, along with two other host, climb into the bed of the truck. The total weight on the four ceramic mugs was about 6,400 pounds at this point and the mugs didn’t so much as crack. Even after all nine people start jumping in the bed of the truck the mugs held together. Isn’t science amazing?
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