Note that flour will not work. In this experiment, you’ll observe the flow of Oobleck and ketchup through a funnel. You will stir each to see how applying shear stress affects the flow of the fluids.

Subjects saw the box not as a specific tool or a shape, but as a function of its place in the overall experiment. They couldn’t “think outside the box,” which in this case involved thinking ...

The experiment was a success. Stirring harder decreased the viscosity, confirming a decades-long theory about the relation between shear thinning and stirring.