Factoid: Road Crews in Missouri Spray Sugar Beet Juice on Roads to Melt Ice and Snow

biologie.uni-hamburg.de

​Who knew? To keep our roads and highways from gettin' too icy, state crews use a salty solution containing sugar beet juice, according to MoDOT.  No, like lots of it. Like at least 78,000 gallons so far this winter.

The beet juice is a by-product of sugar production. It renders the rock salt less corrosive while also increasing ice-fighting power, so it's a two-fer.

Plus, it's brown and thus doesn't make the roads look horrible, as would the sugar beet's cousin, the regular red beet, which is mostly good for borscht and staining white clothing that you like.