Whipped cream bath math
I now know how much whipped cream it would take to fill a bathtub, and you're going to find that out, too (and more).
It started with this post on Reddit:
Husband told me about the post, I replied "Oh, it's whip-its," and then I kept on with my own Reddit scrolling.
But then the topic showed up in my Reddit feed:
Bathtub plus whipped cream equals…??? It may have been the use of the phrase "flopping around" that got me started down a dark path.
Let's break it down:
There's 21 cans of whipped cream in that DoorDash order. Per the Target website, one 13 oz can of Reddi Wip contains 74 servings of 2 tablespoons.
148 tbsp per can x 21 cans = 3108 tbsp
1 tbsp = 0.902 cubic inches
3108 tbsp = 2804.484 cubic inches of whipped cream
My bathtub is a pretty normal apartment size—meaning that it wouldn't be out of place in a motel. At the bottom, it measures roughly 18" wide by 45" long.
Since volume equals length times width times depth, we can calculate how deep those 21 cans would fill a motel-sized bathtub.
L x W x D = volume
45 x 18 x D = 2804.484
810D = 2804.484
D = 3.46 inches
So... those 21 cans of whipped cream (at a cost of about USD$120 in my area) would give you about three and a half inches of whipped cream in the bottom of the tub. For comparison, I usually put about 8 inches of water in the tub before getting in, which just rises to the level of the safety drain after I get in.
How many cans of whipped cream for that 8 inch fill?
L x W x D = volume
45 x 18 x 8 = 6480 cubic inches
6480 cubic inches = 7181.299 tablespoons
7181.299 tbsp / 148 tbsp per can = 48.522 cans @ 13oz each
Without even accounting for the sloping bit at the back of the tub (there are limits as to how much math I’m going to math), you’re looking at a minimum of 49 cans—big cans!—of whipped cream.
I'm not done though. What if... it's not about filling the bathtub, but perhaps just having the correct amount of whipped cream for a different surface area, and the bathtub simply contains the mess?
The average body surface (BSA) area for males aged 20-79 is 22.173 square feet. For females in the same age range, the average BSA is 19.697. Taking a rough average of those two numbers (I'm running out of energy for numbers and gender binaries suck), 21 square feet = 3024 square inches.
If we take our 2804.484 cubic inches of whipped cream and slather that all over the 3024 square inches of average-average non-gendered human being:
Area x Depth = volume
3024 x Depth = 2804.484
3024D = 2804.484
D = 0.9274"
Those 21 cans would give you a layer of whipped cream over the entire body just shy of an inch thick.
An unpleasantly cold and sticky layer, I might add. (Tested by putting my hand in a bowl of whipped cream; don't you dare think anything else.)
Anyways, that DoorDash order is definitely a drug thing.