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EPISODE · Oct 21, 2026 · 7 MIN

The Cheerios Effect

from Be Smart. · host Joe Hanson

Viewers like you help make PBS (Thank you 😃) . Support your local PBS Member Station here: https://to.pbs.org/PBSDSDonateUploaded 25-10-17Who knew there was so much science in a bowl of cereal?Don’t miss our next video! SUBSCRIBE! ►► http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub ↓↓↓ More info and sources below ↓↓↓Ever notice how cereal clumps up in your bowl, or how cereal sticks to the edges of the bowl? Bubbles in beverages do the same thing.You've probably seen this surface tension and buoyancy at work, but did you know there's some mind-blowing science behind it? What we learn in our cereal bowl even connects to the lives of tiny insects that walk on water. SOURCES/EXTRAS:Vella, Dominic, and L. Mahadevan. "The “cheerios effect”." American journal of physics 73.9 (2005): 817-825.Gao, Xuefeng, and Lei Jiang. "Biophysics: water-repellent legs of water striders." Nature 432.7013 (2004): 36-36.Bush, John WM, and David L. Hu. "Walking on water: biolocomotion at the interface." Annu. Rev. Fluid Mech. 38 (2006): 339-369.John Bush: Interfacial Locomotion http://math.mit.edu/~bush/?p=998 -----------FOLLOW US:Merch: https://store.dftba.com/collections/its-okay-to-be-smart Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmartTwitter: @okaytobesmart @DrJoeHansonTumblr: http://www.itsokaytobesmart.com Instagram: @DrJoeHansonSnapchat: YoDrJoe-----------It’s Okay To Be Smart is hosted by Joe Hanson, Ph.D.Director: Joe NicolosiWriter: Sarah KeartesEditor/animator: Andrew OrsakProducer: Stephanie Noone and Amanda FoxProduced by PBS Digital StudiosMusic via APMStock images from Shutterstock http://www.shutterstock.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Oct 21, 2026

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The Cheerios Effect

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