How Does Neil deGrasse Tyson Explains Hot Potatoes Work?

Hot potatoes work by making things move fast when they’re heated up, just like how you bounce a ball when it's warm in your hands.

Hot potatoes are like tiny fire engines inside the potato, they make the potato pop and crackle when you cook them. When you put hot potatoes in the oven or on the stove, these little fire engines start working overtime, making the potato hot from the inside out.

Imagine you're playing with a seesaw at the playground. One side goes up while the other goes down, that’s how heat moves inside the potato. The hot potatoes are like the kids on one end of the seesaw, jumping and laughing so hard they make the whole potato wiggle and squish.

When the hot potatoes finally finish their work, you get a crunchy outside and a soft inside, just like when you bite into a warm cookie after it’s been in the oven for a while. You can even hear them popping, it's like the playground is full of tiny fireworks!