Recently, I attended a hip soiree at one of my neighbor's homes. When Jeff and I walked into the kitchen, we were immediately questioned about a phenomenon that was puzzling the other guests. What was up with the water carafe? Why were the lemons floating and the limes sinking in the water? See photos below if you don't believe me...
Jeff had no response. I took one look and immediately gave my two cents (because they asked for it), "The lemons are coated with a wax to give them the luster that the grocers believe that the consumers want. Limes do not need to be as bright and beautiful as lemons in order to be purchased because they are green and green things don't traditionally have sheen, so they are not coated with this waxy film. Wax floats, and therefore, the lemons coated in wax float. Unwaxed citrus sinks." And can you believe it, B-Reader, the crowd bought it! They said it was the best explanation that they had heard all night long!
Well, I have been trained as a researcher by some of the brightest professors at Texas A&M University. The nerd in me could not just walk away from this scientific wonderment without doing my due-diligence to determine if, indeed, my hypothesis was plausible. So, what did I do? Googled it, of course!
If consensus on the internet is any indicator of the truth of this citrusy conundrum, then it is Density! The density of water is 1.00. Limes are slightly more dense than water. Lemons and H2o are roughly the same density as one another. Therefore, limes sink and lemons float in water.
I don't enjoy being proved wrong. But I will accept it this time because it brings about good memories of a lovelorn nerd, George McFly from Back to the Future (1985), "I'm George. George McFly. I'm your density. I mean...your destiny." Love ya' George.
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