This show probably could have been called The Show About Things That Can Turn Into Other Things.
Today the thing we’re talking about is oil, and in particular, the oil that fast food restaurants use and then have to figure out how to discard responsibly.
Reusing it isn’t always an option, and tossing it down the drain is what leads to clogs and, eventually, fatbergs.
And Willie Nelson only needs so much of the stuff to power his biodiesel tour bus!
But researchers at the University of Toronto have an idea: maybe the old cooking oil could have new life as the stuff 3D printers use to print!
They noticed that the molecules that make up cooking oil aren’t that different from the ones in commercial 3D printing resin.
And so, after obtaining a supply of oil from a fast food chain, they turned it into resin and used it in a 3D printer.
The resin only needs sunlight to cure and turn solid, and it holds up in warm temperatures.
And they estimate it would cost about 40 percent less to make than more traditional types of resin.
Could there be a day when the fast food chains used 3D printers to make the toys for their kids meals out of this stuff?
I’m probably overthinking this.
This weekend in Mansfield, Texas, it’s the one and only Pickle Parade!
The town is officially the pickle capital of Texas, hence the parade, Pickle Playground, pickle runs, and pickle juice drinking contests.
If you go, say hi to their mascot, Pickle Dude, for me!
U of T researchers turn McDonald’s deep fryer oil into high-end 3D printing resin (University of Toronto)
Mansfield, Texas Pickle Parade
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Oil photo by Jessica and Lon Binder via Flickr/Creative Commons