Press release
Absurdly Optimized researches everyday products and recipes from the science up
30 May 2026
Impulse Arc has launched Absurdly Optimized, a site that researches ordinary things, from pancakes to towels to nail clippers, through the chemistry, materials science and physics behind them, and publishes the working.
Most review sites rank what manufacturers send them. Absurdly Optimized starts by working out what matters in a category and how the products are made. That produces predictions, such as which of two cling films should tear first, which owner reports then confirm or refute. It also makes faked reviews easier to spot.
Recipes get the same treatment: target concentrations of acid, salt, fat and umami, the reactions behind the texture, and solvers that work backwards from the result to the quantities.
Several articles include a calculator, so readers can change the targets and get their own answer.
Availability
Absurdly Optimized is free to read at absurdlyoptimized.com, with no account.
About Impulse Arc
Impulse Arc LLC is a California software studio run by Ben Kazez, a concert singer who earlier created FlightTrack and founded Mobiata, acquired by Expedia in 2010. Its products are Wavelength, Continuo.fm, Absurdly Optimized and Ambleway.