Christmas need not be science-free, say researchers who suggest playful experiments for festive gatherings.
You do not need a lab coat, only curiosity and a few household items.
Matthew Cobb of the University of Manchester recommends a flavour test using sweets.
With eyes closed and nose pinched, most people taste only sweetness.
Release your nose and the true flavour suddenly appears, showing smell shapes taste.
Laughter offers another experiment, says Sophie Scott from University College London.
Cracker jokes rarely work alone but provoke laughter when shared socially.
Humans are far more likely to laugh in company than by themselves.
The Christmas roast also hides science.
Steve Brusatte of the University of Edinburgh suggests examining turkey bones to understand movement and flight.
Boiling the carcass leaves a bone puzzle that reveals biomechanics in action.
Chemistry enters through dessert.
Andrea Sella, also at University College London, explains how salt and ice can freeze custard into ice cream.
Salt lowers freezing points, drawing heat away and creating rapid cooling.
Even maths has a festive twist.
Kit Yates of the University of Bath suggests using pine needles to estimate pi.
Scatter them on lined paper and probability does the rest.
