# Potato Chips (and ants) in Spaaaaaaaaaace! **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 4, 2017, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potato-chips-and-ants-in-spaaaaaaaaaace/778958 "2017-02-04T02:42:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BeepKillBeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@BeepKillBeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeepKillBeep)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2017, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potato-chips-and-ants-in-spaaaaaaaaaace/778958/1 "2017-02-04T02:42:41Z")
In “The Simpons” episode “Deep Space Homer”, Averagnaut Homer Simpson stows a bag of potato chips on the space shuttle. He opens the bag and potato chips fly everywhere. One of the astronauts exclaims “They’ll clog the instruments!” So: 1 - Could chips clog the instruments on the space shuttle or lets say the International Space Station? 2 - Just to make it a bit more general, how pure must a space environment remain? I know astronauts eat from little space doggie bags ™ but is this for convenience or safety, or both? … So then Homer smashes open an experimental ant colony, so now we’ll never know if ants could be trained to sort tiny screws in space (thanks Homer). The ants get into the computers and fry the circuits. 3 - Can an ant short out a circuit in space or on Earth? ---
**Author:** ![albino\_manatee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/albino_manatee/32/2_2.png) [@albino\_manatee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/albino_manatee)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2017, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potato-chips-and-ants-in-spaaaaaaaaaace/778958/2 "2017-02-04T16:25:48Z")
using _“can ant’s body conduct electricity?”_ as a filter in google comes up with many hits … have a go at it yourself. ---
**Author:** ![BeepKillBeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@BeepKillBeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeepKillBeep)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2017, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potato-chips-and-ants-in-spaaaaaaaaaace/778958/3 "2017-02-04T16:51:58Z")
> [@albino\_manatee](#): > > using _“can ant’s body conduct electricity?”_ as a filter in google comes up with many hits … have a go at it yourself. > [@General Questions FAQ](#): > > Nor are we interested in hearing how simple it was for another poster to find the answer in a search engine. If it’s that simple to find the answer, go ahead and post the answer. So, what did you find? In case you are wondering, the reason why I post such questions here is because I find that the answers/conversations I get extend far beyond the original question in unexpected ways. For example, the thread I posted on the accuracy of the song “In the Navy”. That’s what makes GQ so interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Okrahoma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90db22/32.png) [@Okrahoma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Okrahoma)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2017, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potato-chips-and-ants-in-spaaaaaaaaaace/778958/4 "2017-02-04T17:09:56Z")
> **[Why 'Crazy Ants' Swarm Inside Electronics](https://www.livescience.com/37720-crazy-ants-invade-electronics.html)** > > So-called 'crazy' ants are spreading throughout the Southeast, and are even more ferocious than fire ants. They also have an annoying habit of swarming inside electronics and destroying them. “When the crazy ants enter these devices their bodies can create connections between electrical contacts, which can lead the circuits to short out and electrocute the ants. This causes them to release an alarm pheromone, a scent ants use to communicate that they are “under attack,” likely attracting the ants’ kin to come and fight, LeBrun said. This creates a vicious cycle that can leave appliances broken and full of dead (and angry) ants.” Potato chips, on the other hand, are non-conducting. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2017, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potato-chips-and-ants-in-spaaaaaaaaaace/778958/5 "2017-02-04T17:26:30Z")
Food particles probably can cause problems, but it’s a problem that they’re equipped to deal with, since any sort of eating in space is always messy. And one of the earliest-recorded computer bugs (though probably not actually the origin of the word “bug”) was [a literal insect that got caught in the computer](http://www.computerworld.com/article/2515435/app-development/moth-in-the-machine--debugging-the-origins-of--bug-.html).