Science seeks to solve a longstanding regional mystery.

Oliver’s Pub & Grill on Route 6 is known for its rotating beer selection, great chicken tenders… and one of physics’ greatest mysteries.

“The problem is simple, the solution isn’t,” commented Dr. Barbara Fayette of NYU’s Titelbaum Graduate Lab. “The building itself is smaller than the space that occupies it — there’s nearly twenty percent more interior square footage within Olivers than we’re seeing in the external footprint.”

When approached for comment, restaurant management responded by dismissing the claim, citing the depth of the easternmost addition as the culprit. “It’s an illusion. It just looks smaller from the outside. There are plenty of places like that.”

But an illusion it is not. Preliminary findings from Fayette’s team show an 18.4% larger interior space — a scientifically significant difference that can’t be easily explained. They expect to publish their work in the winter.