It’s probably not a wise idea to soak a $20 bill in a flammable liquid and set it on fire, but that’s what you’ll have to do with this science demonstration. Sure, you could use just a $1 bill, but then you don’t sweat as much. There is a point to all of this burning… it’s the fact that to everyone’s amazement, paper money never actually burns (if you do it correctly). All of the heat energy is actually absorbed by the secret ingredient – water!
There’s just something amazing about dry ice – the solid that turns into a gas. Science teachers call it sublimation… kids call it amazing. Over the years I’ve presented a number of television segments about using dry ice to make Halloween even more fun – Screaming Ice, Bursting Smoke Bubbles, Spooky Apple Juice, the Crystal Bubble. This segment featured on the NBC affiliate in Denver is one of my favorites… probably because of the three little helpers.
… and when the smoke cleared Judson Laipply was gone.
Oh, you want the rest of the story? I first met Judson over the summer while we were both booked to speak at the same conference. When he mentioned he was coming out to Colorado in August, we made plans to get together. I got a text message from Judson that said, “Hey… do you want to do a video when I come out?” Given the well-known fact that I’m no dancer, you can imagine my apprehension about doing a video. Fast-forward to the day he stopped by to say hi and to check out our offices. When we toured our lab (some call it the playroom), I asked Judson, “Have you ever danced when explosions were going off next to you?” The answer turned into the video… let’s do it!
While Judson ran out to the car to grab his Orange Crush t-shirt, I pulled together a few science demos that I thought could be interesting… and not kill the dancer. I should mention that Judson was passing through Denver on his way to a gig in Wyoming – that’s why he had the t-shirt and music in his
It’s not unusual for our office to get a call or two a week from the media about the Mentos Geyser experiment. Most of the inquires focus on how the reaction works or questions about MENTOS myths. When Tom Whipple from the London Times called, his interest in the MENTOS Geyser focused on the vehicle used to popularize the experiment – YouTube. Here’s the interview from the London Times…
A Lesson in Pure Science…from YouTube
Thousands have watched Steve Spangler’s experiments online. He says it’s the ideal teaching tool for science. Tom Whipple
Steve Spangler was not the first to perform the “Mentos experiment”. It was just that when he did — in his role as a science correspondent on NBC — there was what he refers to as “a perfect storm” of circumstances.
On live TV he put a Mentos mint into a bottle of Diet Coke, waited for a geyser to erupt from the top and watched as the news anchor got soaked. “They tried to fix her hair,” he says, “but it didn’t work.” Crucially, there was also “this little thing called YouTube, that no one knew about”.
I’ll have to admit that my Trash Can Smoke Rings routine is not only a signature staple in my stage show, but it’s become one of my all-time favorite science demos to perform. After presenting my smoke ring routine on the Ellen Show, I received a flood of e-mails with questions about the smoke machine and where to purchase the device. Unfortunately, the cost of a good smoke machine can be a deal breaker for many smoke ring enthusiasts. That’s why I’m hoping you try my latest variation… Smoke Bomb Smoke Rings.
