Visco-elastic Rheology

Imagine you're trying to slide a tiny bead across an ice cube. Scientists always assumed the reason it slides easily is because a thin layer of regular water forms underneath it. These researchers built a super-sensitive machine to actually 'feel' that water layer with a tiny bead. They discovered it's not like normal water at all. Instead, it's a 'visco-elastic' fluid, meaning it's thick and gooey, almost like honey, but also springy. This gooey-but-springy nature is the real secret to ice's slipperiness. They also found that if you coat the bead with a water-repellent material, like wax on a ski, it makes this water layer less gooey, which surprisingly reduces friction even more.