Apparently the Universe Could Be Shaped Like a Doughnut

Earlier this year, the film Everything Everywhere All at Once won numerous Academy Awards, including the Oscar for Best Picture. In said film, the idea of an everything bagel takes on an existential and cosmic significance. Besides being critically and commercially successful, the filmmakers may well have been on to something with the idea of a torus having significance on a universal level.

A recent article at Space.com points to new research into the shape of the universe. Historically, scientists have pointed to pancakes as the most fitting point of comparison for the shape of the universe. The article points to a recent paper that makes a very different argument. What is that argument, you may ask? Well, the paper is titled “The Search for the Topology of the Universe Has Just Begun” — which should give you a sense of what to expect.

As Space.com’s article points out, there’s evidence that suggests that the universe is both curved and flat, albeit in different ways. What that means is that, using the right equipment, astronomical data could be recorded from different points in time — like standing on the edge of a massive doughnut hole and looking up or down.

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Of course, in this case the doughnut hole is a more of a cosmic vantage point for the universe than something literal. It’s all enough to prompt flashbacks to the moment in Interstellar where Matthew McConaughey (spoilers for a film from 2014) moves outside of time and space.

Whether you’re imagining the universe as a doughnut or a bagel, this discussion of the cosmic forces underpinning the cosmos might well make you especially hungry. Thankfully, you won’t have to look far across the universe for some suggestions as to what to eat.