Surface ‘Memory’ in a Carboy

Abstract

TOWARD the close of a recent afternoon, we calibrated a cleaned, dry 5-gallon carboy by pouring in successive litres of distilled water. During the next morning, we found that the bottom 13 litre-levels had been ‘remembered’, these levels being precisely marked by the lines of gas bubbles shown in the photograph. We had not previously encountered the phenomenon, nor have we seen it described.