Tag - mentos and diet coke experiment

Orchestrated Chaos: A Mentos Tribute to Eepybird.com

I was in Talkeetna, Alaska when I received a call from my television producer. “Have you seen the Mentos video yet?” I asked which one she was referring to and she said, “The one with the two guys and 102 bottles of Diet Coke.” I quietly snuck out of the hotel room with my laptop – I was on a mission to find a wireless connection. Thirty minutes later (after lots of snooping), I was watching the amazing video by Fritz Grobe and Stephen Voltz. The first time we did the Mentos Diet Coke experiment on 9NEWS in Denver was March of 2002. We featured variations on the Mentos experiment four other times (different ways to drop the candy into the bottle… warm soda vs. cold soda… brand name vs. generic). But the Eepybird.com video was a stroke of genius.

As a tribute to their video, we gathered a few of our instructors and staff from the Hands-on Science Institute and taught viewers how to make their own trigger device. We filled the back of the SUV with 52 bottles, about 300 Mentos, a cordless drill and a pile of pipe clearners. Here’s the Spangler video at
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Does Diet Coke Really Produce the Best Results?

Believe it or not, research scientists have actually concluded that Diet Coke produces the best stream of flying soda (much to the joy of the Mentos Experiment enthusiasts). I received an email from Dr. Joe Maglaty, Director of Education Outreach from the Merck Institute for Science Education with this information:

I recently came across an article that you may, or may not, be aware of. In the April issue of the Journal of Chemical Education, a chemistry professor from Illinois State Univ. took on the analytical process for showing gas solubility in aqueous solution – that is, how much carbon dioxide (CO2) is released from soda (pop) using ultrasonic energy.

Mentos on Good Morning America

These television news shows just can’t seem to get enough of this. I’ve been away in Alaska on a family vacation and the phone keeps ringing. Television producers are all asking the same questions… “Why does this work and why are people so drawn to posting videos on the internet?” Well, we can help out when it comes to explaining the science behind the reaction. As for the reason why people like to post videos on the internet, I’ll leave that up to you.

The latest Mentos sighting was on Good Morning America this morning.

Bellagio Fountains with Mentos – This Video is Amazing!

Let’s just cut to the chase… You have to see the Extreme Diet Coke & Mentos Experiments video at eepybird.com. These guys take the Mentos Fountain demo to a brand new level. I just took out stock in Diet Coke and Mentos candy because these creative geniuses have inspired a whole new level of soda bottle adventures. I know that many of you are already asking… are they going to be a part of the new Mentos book? I’ve contacted the “eepybird scientists” and we’ll see what happens next.

The original video went viral after it was played on VH-1′s “Web Junk 20.” Now everyone is experimenting with this own fountains and publishing them on the web. It has gotten so crazy, the videos have been mentioned on MSNBC, the Wall Street Journal Online, CNET News.com and even National Public Radio.

How did the eepybird.com scientists rig the bottles? From the info on their website, it looks like they’re using the “beads on a string” method…