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Soda Fountain

Make an impressive fountain with a two liter bottle of soda and a package of Mentos!

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Step 1Gather Materials

You will need a two liter bottle of soda, a pack of Mentos, a piece of scratch paper, and some tape.

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28 comments

Jun 3, 2006. 8:40 PMcyclotour says:

I would like to know the chemical reaction which takes place. Both the equation and a verbal but (short) description in layman's terms.

Jun 3, 2006. 9:53 PMjoh6nn says:

roughly, the equation is:
carbonation + sugar = fooooom!

in layman's terms, that'd be: "FIRE IN THE HOLE!"

Sep 28, 2007. 7:15 PMCartuner55 says:

nope!
mythbusters tested it. its what lemonie ^said.
nucleation sites allow bubbles to form and cause them to form quick!
put a smooth mento in and see what happens

Dec 8, 2008. 12:01 AMDerin says:

nothing?

Dec 9, 2008. 12:54 PMCartuner55 says:

Yep. Its all about the neucleation sites.

Aug 24, 2009. 11:32 AMDerin says:

Also,if the sugar was what triggered the reaction,ordinary cola (red label) would blow up after being carbonated.

Jul 11, 2009. 6:35 AMmohnish says:

i have already done this unknowingly in my mouth

Sep 1, 2006. 7:04 PMmewantbigboom says:

didnt they do this this on mythbusters?

Dec 17, 2006. 8:15 PMlittle_genius241974 says:

yes they did (I'm a big fan of mythbusters)

Jul 5, 2009. 11:30 AMMetal4God says:

did u know Kari had a baby?? now she is offically a MILF!

Apr 28, 2008. 4:51 PMBartboy says:

it works quite well... but I bought a kit from steve spangler science ( he invented this ) and it has a tube that makes it go up to 70 feet!

Jan 16, 2008. 7:54 PMI am a doofus says:

nice drowing (I cant spell)

Jun 2, 2006. 7:53 AMfatherjack says:

whats the UK equivalent to Mentos?

Nov 12, 2007. 11:37 AMVendigroth says:

you'll find that it's Mentos, as a matter of fact. Sorry for the sarcasm, but they're quite easy to find, try at the checkouts at supermarkets, or at corner shops.

Jun 12, 2006. 6:41 PMfizdup says:

wrique: that video is GREAT! I am a science teacher and there has got to be some way I can work this into my lessons. Just one thing, does anyone know where to get mentos in the UK? I'm not sure that they are sold here. Will polos work?

Nov 15, 2006. 8:45 AMCrash says:

they're sold in this country. just look at this link.
http://mentos.co.uk/info_mentos.html

Oct 15, 2006. 4:49 PM

lemonie says:

Believe it's down to nucleation sites. Please see here for more info:
http://eepybird.com/science1.html

Sep 27, 2006. 4:51 PMstupidkid2000 says:

This is lame compared to the mentos/coke rockets people are making. Simply drop a roll of unflavored mentos into a DIETcoke bottle with the foil wrapping still on, quickly put the cap back on and shake the crap out of it. When you are ready, unscrew the cap a bit so you can hear the gas escaping, throw it at the ground and if you throw it right the bottle will fly for about 50 meters.
For more information, visit http://www.mentosandcoketrick.com/

Jul 10, 2006. 3:54 PMsarsey99 says:

you can buy mentos in the uk from home and bargain

=)

Jun 17, 2006. 3:42 PMGadgetmanKen says:

Having had been in the vending industry a long time, I will tell you that the reason the diet sodas work better is because they are somewhat watery, and not as syrupy. They (diet colas) are also the first ones to freeze in winter or an unplugged vending machine. Less syrup equals less mass and weight. Its easier for the Co2 to pass thru thinner liquids.

Jun 8, 2006. 1:51 PMhuldumadurin says:

yeah, ive heard it blows up if you throw it at something

Jun 4, 2006. 4:11 PMwrique says:

I just viewed this link from the Make blog http://eepybird.com/dcm1.html It is diet coke & mentos taken to an insane & beautiful new level!

Jun 4, 2006. 2:53 PMcvillewill says:

Yeah on that stevespanglerscience.com thing it said that the best soda to use us diet because it cleans up easier that might be something to add. There is no difference in height of fountain between diet and regular. I can imagine some mean things that could be done with these fountains...

Jun 2, 2006. 11:32 AMblog.darkforestdesign.com says:

This does look like fun - I originally saw it here: http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment/00000109
Which is a video of some sort of "science dude" and a television reporter doing this. They use a test tube capped off with a playing card instead of a funnel. Take a look, the video is quite incredible.