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Physicists calculate exactly how long it takes to completely drain a bottle of olive oil

Ellsworth Toohey
Mar 17, 2026
∙ Paid

Olive Oil (PawelKacperek/shutterstock.com)

You’re tilting a bottle of olive oil over a pan, waiting for the last bit to slide out. Physicists at Brown University now know exactly how long you’ll be standing there: over nine minutes.

PhD candidate Thomas Dutta and professor Jay Tang applied the Navier-Stokes equations — the same math used to model ocean cu…

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