Like millions of other fans, the American Water family has fallen in love with Eleven, Dustin and the Stranger Things crew, and we eagerly await their return on July 4 for the season three debut. Of course, being who we are, American Water got to wondering just how much water goes into a plate of frozen-waffle yumminess.
So, heeding the advice of the adorable yet wise Dustin, we asked, “Why are we keeping this curiosity door locked?” and set out to do our research. To put it bluntly, Eleven’s go-to comfort food would be completely in the “upside down” if there wasn’t ample water supply! In the spirit of Stranger Things, consider how much water is required just to keep Eleven from “waffling” in her resolve to defeat Demogorgon.
Looking at only the top four ingredients listed on a box of Eggos, you can see the vital role that water plays—and the huge quantity of water required.
- Flour: The water footprint for 1 cup of flour (makes approximately eight waffles) is 61 gallons.
- Water: The second-largest ingredient in Eggos. Suffice it to say, no water, no waffles! The average waffle mix requires 1.25 cups of water.
- Vegetable oil: The approximate water footprint for 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil is 35 gallons.
- Eggs: It takes 53 gallons of water for a chicken to produce every single egg.
Moreover, the quantity of ingredients listed above is enough to make approximately eight waffles. Every minute, the iconic Waffle House sells 145 waffles, and last year Eggo sold more than 476 million waffles in the U.S. And this is water for the waffles alone—we haven’t even considered the packaging!
But for now, let’s move on and look at getting those waffles from Eggo’s manufacturing plant to the grocer in Hawkins, Indiana. It takes approximately 5 gallons of water to refine every gallon of diesel fuel. The semi-truck making that approximate 500-mile journey will require 77 gallons of diesel, or a total of 385 gallons of water.
Lastly, we’ll take a brief look at some of the water consumption involved in Eleven’s waffle binges, when she wasn’t “on the lam.” Remembering the water-energy nexus, it takes approximately a half gallon of water to power a toaster for 15 minutes, one stick of butter has a water footprint of 183 gallons, and the milk required to make the whipped cream for Eleven’s “waffle extravaganza” has a water footprint of 67 gallons.
If we had to make a prediction, we’d say that water better be in ready supply come July 4! With Stranger Things averaging 8.8 million viewers per episode, and Kellogg’s seeing a 14 percent increase in Eggo sales last season, waffle consumption is bound to continue—if not skyrocket—as we all tune in for season three.