The real challenge would be to invent the machine to make the stuff. It'd have to extrude little flat strips, twist them, and then join the ends together. A better topologist than I could probably prove that it is impossible to make a mold for a moebius strip; I just have to go on my intuition that it is.
-- iamanangelchaser, Nov 21 2006

Moebius strip mould design http://imaginality-hb.blogspot.com/
[imaginality, Nov 22 2006]

Mobius Lasagne Mobius_20Lasagne
Similar; the machine would be tough... [RayfordSteele, Nov 26 2006]

Möbius chips M_f6bius_20Chip
This idea, applied to potato chips [dehodson, Jun 19 2008]

Mobius Strip Bagel http://newyork.seri...nnected-halves.html
[Dub, Nov 20 2010]

Iamanagelchaser, your idea is quite simple to produce. Grab a decent homade pasta roller and modify it to be able to take out the main "flatening" drum. Send your pasta through its first few rounds and then connect the ends of the dough with the added twist. Drop your setting to about a 2 or 3 send through a few more times then remove the modified flatening drum. If you want to have fettucini, add the fettucini cutting drum and send it through once. Remove the cutter and remove the pasta. Moebius, eat your heart out.
-- Chefboyrbored, Nov 21 2006


Brilliant - I can't believe no one has thought of this before
(Q. Why did the chicken cross the Mobius strip?
A. To get to the same side)
-- hippo, Nov 21 2006


<s+irs sauce>
-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Nov 22 2006


I think a 2 part Moebius strip mold should be possible but I don't have proof.
-- caspian, Nov 22 2006


Would anybody even notice if their pasta was Mobiusial? Wouldn't the act of putting on sauce break the infinite loop? Will Chefboyrbored start serving these in his restaurant and make millions while iamanangelchaser languishes in poverty and confusion?

I just don't know the answers to these questions and, believe me, they need to be answered.
-- NotTheSharpestSpoon, Nov 22 2006


hippo, you mad fool :)

I do like this but it would be truly difficult to achieve.

oops, sorry I thought I was reading the fractal pasta...
-- po, Nov 22 2006


For a highly artistic moebius strip mould, see the link.
-- imaginality, Nov 22 2006


Hippo, No I don't think I would make these unless I was catering a HB event. If I made even a cent off the idea I would give it to the HB for up keep.

If the pasta was cooked properly it would not fall appart under the viscosity or weight of the sauce.
-- Chefboyrbored, Nov 22 2006


imaginality, I have to admit I'm intrigued by your link, but I still can't quite see how the mold is going to look based on your drawing. I don't suppose you could produce a rendering that is clearer or better annotated?

I'm still not persuaded that it's possible to mold a moebius strip.

Caspian, I'd also love to hear your thoughts. I'm not even sure how to simplify the problem conceptually. I suppose one might simply take a moebius strip and try to make a working mold of it. That might actually be easier than deriving the answer some how.
-- iamanangelchaser, Nov 26 2006


I'm no artist or designer, but here's how I'd describe my mold:

Take your Moebius strip and stand it on a flat surface so that the unbent part is vertical. Look down on it from above. You can see the bend in the strip hides some of the table from view.

Now, again describing it from this top-down view, imagine that one part of the mold consists of the table, the space outside the strip, and the space hidden beneath the bend of the strip.

The second part of the mold consists of the space inside the strip, and the space above the bend of the strip.

Hope that clarifies things... I admit my drawings leave a lot to be desired!
-- imaginality, Nov 26 2006


Halfbaked this one awhile back... see link.
-- RayfordSteele, Nov 26 2006


My original thought was something like this: orient the strip like imaginality says, but have it continuously twisting so its only perfectly vertical at one point. Everywhere it's not vertical, the top part of the mold should be made to fit the upper suface and the bottom part should fit the lower surface. First problem: what about the edge of the strip. Solution: Give the strip a rectangular cross-section so it appears to have 4 sides and really has two. You can't practically make it zero thickness anyway. Second problem: what do you do at the points where the main side or the "edge" side is vertical.

Now I'd specify it differently. Imagine the moebius strip laid out as above, then push it down into a flat surface, indenting the surface to make the lower mold, until the entire strip is below the original flat surface. Then fill in the space above the strip with mold material, up to the original flat surface level. This mold material is the upper mold.

Since this is a more physical process, someone might be able to try it. The vertical mold walls I've included might make it work badly in practice, jamming the upper mold in place.
-- caspian, Nov 27 2006


silicone putty If I were deft spreadsheet if i were fully baked
-- bulb, Nov 28 2006


lovely, altogether lovely(+)
-- neilp, Nov 28 2006


yeah. a moebius spreadsheet
-- bulb, Nov 29 2006


yeaaaaaaaah
-- bulb, Nov 29 2006


[Lt_Frank] deserves an anno bun for the offshoot Klein Bottle Macaroni notion. A pasta exhibiting this property might be able to perform the functional tasks of ravioli and spaghetti at once - a feat man has but dreamed of since the dawn of wheat.
-- zen_tom, Jan 12 2007


// dawn of wheat //

Is that before or after breakfast cereals ?
-- 8th of 7, Nov 20 2010


Is that in the anals of history?
-- pocmloc, Nov 20 2010



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