Where no fermented cabbage has ever gone . . . . .

[ellenkushner]

Kimchi in space

...Ordinary kimchi is teeming with microbes, like lactic acid bacteria, which help fermentation. On Earth they are harmless, but scientists feared they could turn dangerous in space if cosmic rays and other radiation cause them to mutate.

Another problem was that kimchi has a short shelf life, especially when temperatures fluctuate rapidly, as they sometimes do in space.

“Imagine if a bag of kimchi starts fermenting and bubbling out of control and bursts all over the sensitive equipment of the spaceship,” Mr. Lee said.

Comments

[contrarywise]

Having been witness to a tragic, exploding kimchee jar incident in my own household (luckily it happened while the jar was inside a refridgerator, and no one was injured as a result, but still...), I can both relate and sympathize. It made quite a noise when it went off, and it was some time before the kimchee smell was gone from the fridge.

[nohwhere-man.livejournal.com]

Imagine mutant kimchee, roaming the galaxy in search of new worlds to colonize. Could be a forth-rate 1950's scifi film.

[abrakadabrah.livejournal.com]

I don't know. It might just cause a lot of kimchi based snow. (http://news.aol.com/story/_a/study-shows-bacteria-are-common-in-snow/n20080228140109990012)

[themadfish.livejournal.com]

Someone needs to make a B-movie horror film out of this. Mutant kimchi, causes one non-korean astronaut to commit suicide from the smell, another gets poisoned, and the only hope rests with the Korean scientist that is more resistant to the kimchi.

revelation

[meener.livejournal.com]

if i ever start up a rock band, i am going to name it "mutating kimchi."

[kijjohnson.livejournal.com]

If a bag of kimchi burst all over the electronics of a spaceship, you would have a spaceship of people beelining for the airlock -- without suits.

[rojomojo.livejournal.com]

ha ha ha hee hee hee hee. mutating space zombie kimchi! eat them or your brains are their lunch.

rojo