In 2006, EepyBird.com started a worldwide YouTube phenomenon with their Menthos + Coca Cola exploding fountain video. This was definitely a “kids DO try this at home project” in my mind.
For anyone who has not yet heard of this ubiquitous phenomenon (aka. does not spend hours upon hours weekly on their home computer surfing the net), the experiment is basically as follows.
 |
1. Place a 2 liter bottle of diet coke (diet is supposed to be most effective) on the ground in a park preferrably.This is not an experiment to do indoors unless you are in the mood to clean up the house.2. Create a paper tube that fits the menthos just right, not too loose otherwise the menthos will get stuck on the way down trying to get ahead of each other.
3. Make a hole 1 cm from the bottom of the tube on both side and place a toothpick through it. This will hold the lineup of menthos in place until it is time for their coke bath. |
4. Fill the tube with an entire pack of menthos (if you try to be cheap and you cut back to half the pack, the experiment will not work – don’t be cheap !).
5. Place the end of the filled tube (toothpick side) in the mouth of the open coke bottle. You’re almost there now !
6. Pull the toothpick out quickly, leaving the tube in the coke bottle (which will help the fountain effect), and run away quickly so you don’t get wet !
The whole experiment lasts no more than a few seconds, so don’t expect to take the photos of it yourself.
My first attempt with my buddy Des was not so hot. We used a funnel approach instead of a tube so the menthos became jammed and the whole experiment was a wash, pun completely intended.
Going with the straight tube approach next time around was the way to go.
Check out the video or better yet, try it yourself at home.
My Science Project Video :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNPXE3MgExM
Or watch the real video from EepyBird.com – I bow down in respect to the masters here :