The sound of a jelly wobbling has been captured for the first time to mark a unique celebration that blends the staple of childhood parties with architecture, art and science.
The icky sticky sound of the dessert, known as jello in north America, was recorded at University College London for a soundtrack that will be used at the end of the week in a bizarre "architectural jelly banquet" where leading firms of architects will compete for recognition of their creative skills with this unusual medium.
As real jellies wobbled in one of UCL's anechoic chambers - a special room in which the walls are lined with sound-absorbent material - the oscillations were recorded by sound artist Douglas Murphy.
He says: "It is refreshing to explore the sonority of a much neglected physical property: the wobble factor. Jelly entices us into a strange but compelling world of organic sounds. The sonic wobble is captured in two ways: by carefully recording the results of gentle coaxing and by expressing the wobble frequency as physically powerful base tones."
Prof Jonathan Ashmore, UCL Ear Institute, adds: "Ear experts have been studying jelly for decades, for collagen - one of the starting ingredients of jelly - makes up the critical components of the inner ear. The way that collagen wobbles on a very small scale is what allows us to hear different notes."
The sounds captured in the chamber will be turned into a wobbling jelly soundtrack to be played tonight at the event, backed by the jelly manufacturer Bompas & Parr, self proclaimed "architectural foodsmiths," as part of the London Festival of Architecture.
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