Sun Chicken
A spontaneous encounter in the middle of nowhere
Phetchabur, Thailand
2017
This is the first thing one sees when driving on this little road. From far away, the reflection of these, approximately 1000 little mirrors tends to blind. Because of the sunny weather in Thailand, it is almost impossible for this structure not to cause any sort of attention. The question is, what for?
Well, we stopped, driven by our curiosity to know what the big mirror-thing was all about. We happened to meet this man. He was sweaty and his eyes opened with difficulty. Then, he proceeded to explain to us what his living proyect was about: Rooster Fried Chicken.
It may sound crazy, but it is just what you can see. The man explains to us that with the help of the amount of light and heat provided by the sun, he had the idea of trying to cook some food. He then realized he could use tiny mirrors in order to reflect the sun's heat in the direction of his food.
Because of the light and its brightness, he has to use a special mask in order no to burn only his eyes, but his face's skin. Keep in mind temperature in Bangkok can rise up to 36°C.
But it doesn't stop there. In order to roast the chicken properly, it needs to get the heat from every direction; it can not only come from one side, because then the chicken wouldn't fully cook.
So he set another structure behind the grill, so that the heat from the mirrors would also reflect again in the other direction. Not only this, but he managed to keep the grill rotating with the help of electricity, so that the roasting and cooking process can equally function.
Due to the busy road that goes along the side of this man's house, this invention has become his source of capital. People who drive by here every single day stop to eat a well roasted chicken.
His wife is, of course, also part of the business: she helps him roast the chicken and prepares it for the customers to eat.
This story only proves, that there's never a limit to creativity and to what the human mind is capable of in any circumstance.
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