April 11, 2005
More On Avoiding Freezer Burn
Let me just say that the amount of brainpower being expended on this problem is astounding.
Doug asks:
What about hypotenusal construction? Say your Dad needed a 16 in^3 chunk of ice cream. An isosceles wedge that is 4 inches long, 2 inches wide, and 4 inches high would do the trick. That would leave an exposed surface area of only 8 sq. inches, wouldn't it?
The answer is: sadly, no.
At first, I thought Doug failed to take into account the surface area of the 2-inch-wide diagonal shelf, which would add approximately 11.3 square inches to the 8 that Doug had suggested, for a total surface area of 19.3 square inches on the first cut:
But then, I thought that maybe he was going for this kind of wedge shape (not exactly isosceles, but still):
But that still doesn't work, leaving a total surface area of approximately 17.9 square inches, almost 2 square inches more than Dad's method.
Have a party for everyone who has given thaught to this and eat the whole damn box. The next night go to the next persons house and eat his box of ice cream. No freezer burn!!!
I'll bring the peanuts and bananas.
I enjoyed the discertations on properly emptying a box of ice cream. I was almost inspired to find my slide rule and join in, but I made a careful vertical cut through some maple walnut instead. The only suggestion I would offer is to try to convince Edy's to alter their container shape to 2.5" X 2.5" X 7". This would provide a very orderly ingestion of their product, ie. one inch vertical cut each day. You would need to protect your week's supply from your L.C. (life's companion) by providing an alternate supply. Until they create this significant improvement in containers, try bringing home a good supply (case) of ice cream sandwiches.
With contemplative anticipation, DAD
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