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Scientific American

April 27, 2010

In Which I Save My Friends From the KFC Double-Down

Editor’s note: If you are offended by cholesterol, or are a health and nutrition blogger, or an obesity blogger, avert your eyes. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

By Jason G. Goldman

This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American

Editor's note: If you are offended by cholesterol, or are a health and nutrition blogger, or an obesity blogger, avert your eyes. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Earlier today, dear friend of the blog AV Flox conducted an experiment. It went something like this:

Observation: Everyone says the KFC Double-Down is gross.

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Figure 1: Experimental stimulus. Bacon and cheese are served betwixt two pieces of original recipe fried chicken, which serve as the bun.

And so it was that in the name of SCIENCE, AV set out to investigate this issue.

Null Hypothesis: The KFC Double-Down really is as gross as it sounds.

Alternative Hypothesis: THE KFC Double-Down, while being really bad for you, is actually delicious.

Result: Fail to reject the null hypothesis. "If I were going to have a little tasty snack, I'd probably not have that one. It's not very noms."

Ancedotal data, perhaps, but with p < .05, it's pretty convincing. What do you think, Peter and Travis? Think we can get into Obesity?

Of course, I couldn't let poor AV end her day with the double-down. And so there was sushi.

Figure 2: The Shima Roll. Spicy tuna, avocado, cilantro, with a bit of Sriracha on top. Truly a work of art.

Jason G. Goldman is a science journalist based in Los Angeles. He has written about animal behavior, wildlife biology, conservation, and ecology for Scientific American, Los Angeles magazine, the Washington Post, the Guardian, the BBC, Conservation magazine, and elsewhere. He contributes to Scientific American's "60-Second Science" podcast, and is co-editor of Science Blogging: The Essential Guide (Yale University Press). He enjoys sharing his wildlife knowledge on television and on the radio, and often speaks to the public about wildlife and science communication.

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