Pothole Solution

A solution to Canada’s perennial pothole problem may be found in a 14-year-old’s science fair project. Inspired by the fact that his mother experienced yet another blown tire, the young inventor set out to find a patch mixture that would work for the long term – and he did.

The first step was to consult a few experts who advised him that the main problem with patching materials is that water seeps into the surface, so that cycles of freezing and thawing eventually break apart the asphalt. This led the 9th grader to search for hydrophobic materials that were also cheap and environmentally friendly. The answer? Chicken feathers!

Experiments showed that regular asphalt allows about half the water that hits the surface to pass through, while asphalt mixed with two percent chicken feathers allowed almost no water to pass through. The project earned the inventor first prize at the science fair, and may earn him a patent as well.