A group of hobbyists based in Sheffield initiated the effort to send a pie where no pie has gone before.
“We want to see if the altitude affects [the pie’s] molecular structure and so make it easier to swallow during the competition,” Tony Callaghan, one of the organisers, told Metro of the UK. But the fact that the pie was launched from a pub raises suspicion that this was all just a drunken bet.
Strapping a meat and potato pie onto a weather balloon was also intended to promote the World Pie Eating Championship which takes place on Tuesday. Bill Kenyon, who helped bake the pie, told the BBC, “This is the first step to enable mankind to consume pies with more elegance and comfort.”
So, how did it work out? The pie safely made it’s journey 3.8km into the stratosphere and landed back on Earth. A sheep is believed to have taken a bite. “The pie was essentially heated, frozen up in space then warmed up again, so the flavour is probably richer,” Callaghan said.
Great job science!
Take the full time-lapse journey with the pie in the video below:
[BBC]