Topic - Mentos Geyser

Television’s “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” Called Today…

Steve… you’ve got a call on line 4 from a person who says she’s from the television show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. Do you want to take it?

Hello, this is Steve…

The person introduced herself as a producer for the television show who helps research all of those perplexing questions. You’ll never guess what kind of question she was researching… something to do with Mentos and exploding soda. After a few emails and some clarification, the question and the four choices were finalized. If you want to know how well the contestant did, tune in to watch the show on November 22nd. I bet you’d know the answer if you were sitting in the hot seat.

An Even Bigger Mentos Fountain

The guys at Eepybird have done it again. They just released a new video with more Mentos and Diet Coke explosions and this time it has a twist. They must have a lot of time on their hands, because this time they use a domino effect and twice as many bottles than in the original.
Watch the Video

Spangler Signs Deal with Mentos for New Geyser Tube Toys

We’re excited to announce the partnership between Steve Spangler Science and Mentos – actually the company who owns the Mentos brand Perfetti VanMelle USA. For the past six months, our Mentos mad scientists and a number of our Spangler Science teacher ambassadors from across the country have been working on new contraptions that produce the best geysers you’ve ever seen. Geyser Tube toys and science kits will be released in the next eight months and will be available in toys stores (yes, the big ones) nationwide.

Here’s the official press release…

December 1, 2006
DENVER, COLORADO – Over a million viewers tune in each week to see what cool science experiment Steve Spangler has up his sleeve. He shoots potatoes, makes toilet paper fly and turns two-liter bottles of soda into giant geysers all in the name of getting people of all ages turned onto science. The now famous Mentos and Diet Coke experiment turned into one of the most viral marketing campaigns in the history of the Internet. Just drop an unwrapped roll of Mentos into a freshly opened two-liter bottle of soda and stand back. The pop becomes a geyser of foam guaranteed to make onlookers cheer wildly and run away.

Now

Grandma and Grandson Take Mentos to New Heights

I recently received an email from Mimi Sylvia and her grandson Scott. Mimi (she has been called that since her oldest granddaughter tried to say “grandma” and it came out “mimi”) loves to teach science to her 10 grandkids and says she doesn’t plan on growing up herself anytime soon.

Every summer, Mimi Sylvia and her husband travel to Montana to visit their daughter and her family. Mimi Sylvia says they pack their car full of experiments and crafts. She loves to show the kids that science is fun.

Mimi and Scotty tried the Mentos and Diet Coke experiment and WOW did they make a splash. Scotty outdid his two older sisters and brother.

We were so impressed with the photo she sent, that we had to share! Keep aiming high, big guy!

More Mentos Theories: A New Article in the Toronto Star Adds to the Controversy

I got a call from a reporter from the Toronto Star newspaper a few weeks ago. I’ll give you three guess as to why he was calling? Mentos, Mentos or Mentos? That’s right, someone wanting to do another article on the Mentos and soda reaction… but this story was going to be different. From the outset of the call, I knew that the reporter, Patrick Evans, wanted more information than the typical question, “So, why does this explode?” He was interested in the history, the science and the viral nature of this experiment. He wanted to know why this experiment went viral on the internet in September of 2005 even though it had been seen on national television in the late 90′s? Also at issue was the controversy about why and how it worked. Today, some people believe that the reaction is purely physical – bubbles forming on the surface of the candy (nucleation sites). But Patrick Evans found a chemistry professor from Fordham University in New York City who believes that there might be an enzyme — an enzyme called carbonic anhydrase — in the Mentos that acts as a catalyst to speed up the reaction. Yes, the