A masters degree and Rice Krispies treats

One of our colleagues finished off his on year Masters Degree program upon turning in his thesis.  One of his close coworkers, now going for a PhD, promised to make something special for him. There is was all wrapped up in aluminum foil.  We naturally were very excited to see what it could be so we opened it up to find - one really big Rice Krispies treat!!

A surprise awaited to celebrate the Masters Degree!

Is is is supposed to represent a virus?

Or is it indicative of a benzene ring?

Whatever - he got his Masters and a big Rice Crispies treat!

The shape - being hexagonal - was determined to be inspired by something related to the biological or chemical field. Some interpreted it to be representative of a virus or a benzene ring.  It was a different shape for sure. There were two layers of differing size so we had a two layer treat.   It was easier to cut than expected and tasted as you would expect a homemade Rice Krispies treat to taste. These are incidentally made from butter, marshmallows and Rice Krispies. They are not baked just formed into something as they cool.  BTW - if you ever see the commercial product in the store or in a vending machine save your money! They are terrible.  It's the homemade version or nothing.

Two layered homemade cake style!

Classic appearance not be found with the commercial product.

The treat(s) was pretty popular. It was also very familiar to our colleagues from China. What was told to us was that back in the days of Mao when the majority were not at all affluent, a similar type of product made from rice was somewhat of a staple for celebrations at which we would normally feature a cake. As one of our friends explained, no one could buy cakes back then and so these puffed rice kind of treats, covered with chocolate or frosting and elaborately decorated for an occasion were a common substitute.  Who could imagine that Rice Krispies treats would turn out to be a cross cultural phenomenon?

Chinese New Year's version of the treats!

And for extra fun make them into balls!