Finally, a highway that makes me regular!

[Taro Toporific]

Rice waste product can make quieter, tougher road surfacesSociety of Chemical Industry 16.01.2004
A waste product from rice has been used by Japanese scientists to produce surfacing materials that make for quieter, more resilient roads, reports Richard Butler in this issue of Chemistry & Industry Magazine.
Roads made using this method absorb noise better, drain faster and are less susceptible to extremes of temperature than traditional based road surfaces, according to Minebea, of Nagano, Japan....The new traffic surfaces contain rice bran..

[canman]

While I was teaching at Geos, I had a university professor as a student. And every Wednesday he would come and tell me all about his research using rice husk ash to strengthen concrete. According to him, and I think I still have his research papers, the rice husk ash would increase the strength by some 25%. But the problem was the husks had to be burned at the perfect temperature, if it was to black, or ashy it would loose its strength. That was the problem the US researchers were adding.
Its amazing what a little rice can do for you. I bet all those Atkins people are second guessing themsleves now.