custard it conjures up images of works
canteens hospitals school dinners and
kids parties it’s definitely one of
those foods that you either love or hate
but it’s pretty harmless nonetheless or
is it could custard have a more
explosive side is custard a bomb waiting
to go off
you didn’t really think that was gonna
blow up did you fear not there’s
absolutely no need to defuse that rifle
in your fridge but what if we apply a
bit of science what if we use custard
powder instead right let’s get rid of
this first okay now I’ve got this tin
into which I saw place this candle then
I get some custard powder and I’m going
to sprinkle it around the candle that
make sure there’s plenty of there okay
then I get this rubber hose and poke it
into this hole which I made earlier okay
now I’m going to light the candle
put the lid on
and retire to a safe distance now please
do not try this at home
now all I’m gonna do is blow so what
just happened when I blew into the tin I
introduced oxygen one of the essential
ingredients for fire and at the same
time I turned the pile of custard powder
into an airborne dust cloud which
created the explosion but here’s the
thing there isn’t anything explosive in
custard powder just the act of turning
it into a dust cloud and igniting it in
a confined space made it explosive
custard powder was invented in 1837 by
pharmacist Alfred Byrd his wife was
allergic to traditional egg custard so
he came up with a corn flour based
substitute but it wasn’t until his
friend sampled it that he realized its
commercial potential and the now famous
bird’s custard was born and in 1902 this
place the custard Factory in thig Worth
Birmingham was established to produce it
even back then they knew about the
potential danger of custard powder so
instead of the usual open plan layout
the factory consisted of a series of
rooms separated by thick walls and
corridors sectioned off by these huge
steel blast doors so that any explosion
would be contained so next time you see
that long-forgotten tin of custard
powder at the back of the kitchen
cupboard just remember what it’s capable
of but don’t try this with your custard
powder at home
canteens hospitals school dinners and
kids parties it’s definitely one of
those foods that you either love or hate
but it’s pretty harmless nonetheless or
is it could custard have a more
explosive side is custard a bomb waiting
to go off
you didn’t really think that was gonna
blow up did you fear not there’s
absolutely no need to defuse that rifle
in your fridge but what if we apply a
bit of science what if we use custard
powder instead right let’s get rid of
this first okay now I’ve got this tin
into which I saw place this candle then
I get some custard powder and I’m going
to sprinkle it around the candle that
make sure there’s plenty of there okay
then I get this rubber hose and poke it
into this hole which I made earlier okay
now I’m going to light the candle
put the lid on
and retire to a safe distance now please
do not try this at home
now all I’m gonna do is blow so what
just happened when I blew into the tin I
introduced oxygen one of the essential
ingredients for fire and at the same
time I turned the pile of custard powder
into an airborne dust cloud which
created the explosion but here’s the
thing there isn’t anything explosive in
custard powder just the act of turning
it into a dust cloud and igniting it in
a confined space made it explosive
custard powder was invented in 1837 by
pharmacist Alfred Byrd his wife was
allergic to traditional egg custard so
he came up with a corn flour based
substitute but it wasn’t until his
friend sampled it that he realized its
commercial potential and the now famous
bird’s custard was born and in 1902 this
place the custard Factory in thig Worth
Birmingham was established to produce it
even back then they knew about the
potential danger of custard powder so
instead of the usual open plan layout
the factory consisted of a series of
rooms separated by thick walls and
corridors sectioned off by these huge
steel blast doors so that any explosion
would be contained so next time you see
that long-forgotten tin of custard
powder at the back of the kitchen
cupboard just remember what it’s capable
of but don’t try this with your custard
powder at home
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