Shoe-string theory: Science shows why shoelaces come untied

A new study by mechanical engineers at UC Berkeley finally shows why your shoelaces may keep coming untied. It’s a question that everyone asks, often after stopping to retie their shoes, yet one that nobody had investigated until now. The answer, the study suggests, is that a double whammy of stomping and whipping forces acts like an invisible hand, loosening the knot and then tugging on the free ends of your laces until the whole thing unravels.

Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2017-04-shoe-string-theory-science-shoelaces-untied.html#jCp

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Well it’s a good thing that our brightest students in one of our top universities are tackling the most pressing technical questions of the day. :nerd:

I wonder if they’ll ever get around to figuring out the physics theory behind the “sock black hole” into which missing socks worldwide get sucked into, never to be seen again. :smile:

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The genetics of which socks are likely to be sucked into the black hole will tax them for decades. :grin:

On a more serious note; I’m still not sure how much this advances science.

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“Shoe-string theory: Science shows why shoelaces come untied”

this is where our tax money go

My dog unties mine for me.

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@MeghillaGorilla1 That means your dog is smarter than the UCBerkeley engineering students. :smile:

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He did exceptionally well on his Sat’s. and decided to go to MIT

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Voice: “That was us. It’s kind of a gnome thing. We just like jokes. At least we didn’t go bigfoot on people like the others.”

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