Pancakes may appear at first glance to be relatively flat, but a scientific study has revealed otherwise. When examined up close, pancakes are actually more reminiscent of a rugged mountain than a rolling plain.

Researchers conducted a study published in the Annals of Improbable Research where they tested the topography of a pancake from IHOP. The scientists had a scale of 1.0 representing exact flatness, and Kansas scored a near-perfect 0.9997, while the pancake measured a relatively lumpy 0.957.

Fried foods and especially pancakes are prone to inconsistencies due to CO₂ gas bubbles that develop in the batter, per the Australian Academy of Science. This means that making pancakes will inevitably result in flapjacks that are more mountainous than Kansas.