Scientists trying to Cure Glaucoma Accidentally Make The Perfect Pancake

Some of the best inventions in history were accidents. Penicillin, the microwave oven, Velcro and Teflon were all created by mistake. This accidental discovery isn't as epic unless you're a foodie or you own a restaurant and want the best pancakes in town.

When I was a kid I used to take 4 pancakes, stack them and put my over easy eggs on top and syrup the whole lot of it. Then stab through the center of the yolks and mix the egg all up. Basically creating a mashed, egg maple syrup-y pancake topping. Delicious.  Anyway... Pancake dream sequence is now over, so I digress.

A team of scientists at University College London were recently trying to find a cure for glaucoma and accidentally discovered the recipe for the perfect pancake instead. Glaucoma is caused when liquid builds up in your eye. So they wanted to figure out how it builds up...  how it escapes. And weirdly enough, pancakes are a pretty good stand in for eye tissue from a physics point of view.

So the team started making different types of pancakes, analyzing the ratio of liquid to flour, and tracking how it affected the size and the quality of the pancakes. Unfortunately they weren't able to find out a cure for glaucoma. which sucks, but on the sunny side of the street, they did come up with the recipe for the perfect pancake.

You want to use a ratio of 1 3/4 cups of water for every one cup of flour. That should get you a nice, smooth, perfectly browned pancake.

Disclaimer:

*These pancakes have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.These pancakes are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent glaucoma.

[Via: Food & Wine]