Finally, a way to put the Brussels sprouts you didn’t eat at dinner to good use.
In an effort to inspire youngsters to eat their vegetables and pursue science careers, The Big Bang UK Young Scientists & Engineers Fair debuted an eight-foot Christmas tree with lights powered by a battery made out of 1,000 Brussels sprouts in London earlier this week.
Here’s how it works, according to the fair’s website:
Copper and Zinc electrodes are placed in each Brussels sprout to create a chemical reaction between the electrodes, generating a current which can be stored and used to power the LEDs on the tree.
The power is stored in a capacitor and released through 100 high efficiency LEDs.
If you want to try this at home, but don’t have that many leftover Brussels sprouts, here’s how you can make a battery out of the extra potatoes that didn’t get mashed for Thanksgiving dinner.