There's a pie that's simply out of this world making headlines, but not because it's scrumptious. It's literally hovering somewhere out there in the galaxy thanks to a group of English students who launched it as part of a bizarre experiment.
The students from St. Anselm's Preparatory School in Bakewell, Derbyshire, released the famed Bakewell tart tethered to a high altitude balloon into the stratosphere on Monday.
The experiment sought to observe any changes within the intrepid pastry's molecular structure and to see if it remains edible after being exposed to a temperature of -36°C. Unfortunately, the result may remain a mystery as the pie never returned to terra firma. Yet.
The last tracker reading of the pie's elevation over Saxilby, near Lincoln, was measured at 52,500ft before all contact was lost.
British actor Stephen Fry tweeted about the experiment with pride.
And followers just ate it up.
The Bakewell pie, or pudding, is a traditional English dessert that dates back almost 150 years. It is named after the town and consists of English jam, almond paste, and pastry.
The search for the daredevil tart is ongoing, and the pupils are hopeful.
Liz Scott, the director of the studies told BBC the group conducted a similar experiment before.
Last year, we launched a high-altitude balloon in preparation for this experiment and it was found by a couple on a beach near Skegness, who used the contact details on the balloon to let us know where it ended up. We're hoping the same thing will happen again and we'll find out where the pudding ends up.
Hopefully, the students will have an opportunity to get a piece of the pie. Someday.
