A closer look
Builders of the Ming Dynasty used a mixture of slaked lime and sticky rice soup to bind the stones of the Great Wall of China. This ancient architectural secret created a mortar so incredibly strong that modern bulldozers struggle to tear it down, and weeds still cannot grow through the cracks. It is deeply humiliating to modern engineering that a multi-billion dollar highway will develop potholes after one mildly cold winter, while a giant defensive barrier held together by literal porridge has survived centuries of warfare, earthquakes, and millions of tourists scraping their backpacks against it. Perhaps city planners should ditch the asphalt and just start pouring risotto into our crumbling infrastructure
