Final answer:
Thickened soup refers to a soup with a thicker consistency, achieved through various thickening methods. In a quality control test, thick soup in cans rolls slower down a ramp due to higher viscosity. The 1960s Campbell's marketing technique of using marbles for better visual appeal in advertisements does not affect soup thickness.
Step-by-step explanation:
A thickened soup refers to a type of soup that has been thickened through various methods such as the addition of starches like flour or cornstarch, the use of a roux, or by blending some of the ingredients to create a thicker consistency.
When cans of soup are rolled down a ramp in a quality control setting, the rate at which they roll can indicate the soup's thickness.
Cans with thicker soup roll slower because as the soup moves inside the can, the higher viscosity (thickness) of the soup resists the motion, slowing down the can. This is because of the internal friction between the soup's particles which requires more force to overcome when the soup is thicker.
In the 1960s, Campbell's faced a dilemma with their vegetable soup advertisements as the veggies would sink, making the soup look less appealing.
Their solution was to fill the bottom of the bowl with marbles and then pour the soup over them, thus creating an illusion of a bowl packed with vegetables, which made for a more visually attractive advertisement. This technique was purely for aesthetics and did not affect the actual thickness of the soup served to customers.