Readers Respond to Our Test of the Claim that Protesters Threw Milkshakes Mixed With Cement at June 29 Protest

“Some days, you just gotta science the hell out of it.”

(Sam Gehrke)

Last week, WW tested a claim made by Portland police June 29 that protesters had thrown vegan milkshakes mixed with cement. How? We made our own ("Concrete Evidence," WW, July 10, 2019.) Turns out, it's possible to mix quick-drying cement with a vegan milkshake, but the result would be immediately obvious and would leave a telltale mess that's hard to clean up. Here's what readers had to say about our experiment.

Claire Keturi, via Facebook: "The DIY we've all been asking for."

Seth Woolley, via wweek.com: "By the way, a concentration of over a percent sugar can indefinitely prevent hardening of concrete."

Ellen, via Twitter: "Armed white supremacists in the Pacific Northwest are a much bigger threat than milkshakes."

Vater ghost, via Twitter: "Even if it's a milkshake, it's still assault."

Ken Armstrong, via Twitter: "Recipe for busting that rumor spread by Portland police: Take 2 vegan milkshakes and one 50-pound bag of cement. Stir. Throw at mannequin."

Zakir Khan, via Twitter: "They're doing what PPB should've done before they tweeted. Test the theory before speculating nonsense."

Michelle Cristiani, via Facebook: "The problem is, there was no chocolate. Chocolate cement is the way to go."

Melissa Lewis, via Twitter: "I would absolutely watch a MythBusters: News show by Willamette Week."

David Ferriday, via Facebook: "Cops lie all the time. So when I get a jury summons, I show up and I remember this fact."

Kimber Stevens, via Facebook: "It's not OK to throw milkshakes at people, regardless of whether they do or don't have cement in them."

Ex-inteller, via Reddit: "Seriously, anyone who has spent any time with concrete is going to know those milkshakes had zero concrete in them as soon as they saw pictures."

John M. Atkinson, via Twitter: "Some days, you just gotta science the hell out of it."

Correction

An item in Best of Portland (WW, July 10, 2019) on Sinbin, the home of the late Alexander "Sandy" Bodecker, misspelled his name. The home also has one skate bowl, not two. WW regrets the errors.

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