We just found out we’ve been making ice the wrong way our entire lives, according to science. Apparently filling your ice cube tray with hot water can really cut down on freezing time. It's a bit counterintuitive, we know, but this is a real scientific phenomenon known as the Mpemba effect.
The paradoxical effect was named after Erasto Mpemba, a Tanzanian student who noticed that a hot ice cream mix froze faster than a cold one. He then published a paper on this scientific anomaly in 1969.
No one has ever been able to definitively explain why hot water freezes faster, but there are several theories. Some scientists believe faster evaporation of hot water reduces the volume left to freeze. Others say the formation of a frost layer on cold water acts as an insulator, which contributes to a slower freezing rate.
No matter what the actual scientific explanation is, we're eternally grateful to Erasto for this beyond helpful tip. (Mic)
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