As promised, today we are conducting Phase II of the Wet Sneaker Experiment. Phase I is documented here.
In Phase I, we concluded that stuffing newspaper into a wet sneaker helps it dry out significantly faster than just leaving it to sit with no other treatment. In Phase II, we are testing whether paper towels have a greater or lesser drying effect on a wet sneaker.
HYPOTHESIS
Stuffing paper towels into a wet sneaker will help it dry out as fast as, or faster than, stuffing newspaper.METHODOLOGY
The Phase II methodology is similar to Phase I, except we are weighing the test subjects to gain a more accurate measure of water removed by the two materials.
Equal weights of paper towel and newspaper are assembled for stuffing.
This amounts to 16 sheets of paper towel and 2 double sheets of newspaper (a total of 31 grams each).
The paper is crumpled to be ready for stuffing.
The left sneaker is assigned to be the paper towel or “PT” test subject.
The right sneaker is assigned to be the newspaper or “NP” test subject.
The sneakers are initially weighed in their dry state.
The sneakers are soaked for 5 minutes. Excess water is squeezed out by hand and the sneakers are weighed in their wet state.
The sneakers are stuffed with the crumpled paper towels or newspaper.
After standing for 5 minutes, the sneakers are weighed.
The stuffing is removed and the sneakers are weighed again.
The sneakers are stuffed for a second time. After standing for 10 additional minutes, the sneakers are weighed.
The second batch of stuffing is removed and the sneakers are weighed again.
The sneakers are stuffed for a third time. After standing for 9 hours, the sneakers are weighed.
The stuffing is removed and the sneakers are weighed again.
The experiment is concluded at this time.
RESULTS
| sneaker state | paper towel (left) | newspaper (right) |
|---|---|---|
| initial dry | 240 | 241 |
| initial wet | 344 | 345 |
| water gained | 104 | 104 |
| BATCH 1 | ||
| stuffed | 372 | 373 |
| unstuffed | 290 | 311 |
| water removed | 54 | 34 |
| BATCH 2 | ||
| stuffed | 321 | 342 |
| unstuffed | 271 | 291 |
| water removed | 19 | 20 |
| BATCH 3 | ||
| stuffed | 290 | 308 |
| unstuffed | 249 | 253 |
| water removed | 22 | 38 |
| total water removed | 95 | 92 |
| water remaining | 9 | 12 |
| % water removed | 91% | 88% |
