Introduction: Removing the Marble From the Pop Bottle (Ramune)
Welcome to my Ramune recipe for disaster, or How I removed the marble from the bottle
A good friend recently brought me a Marble Pop as a gift. It's a great novelty, and you may read all about it (If you have not heard of it), by serching for "Marble Pop".
In a nutshell, it is a fruity flavoured soda, with a novelty of being sealed by a marble. When ready to be consumed, you simply remove the top wrapper and use the included plunger to push the marble which then drops into the top section of the bottle, and is prevented from hitting the bottom by the thin neck. It is also prevented from falling out by the top collar gasket which remains.
In addition, there are divots on one side of the bottle, which allow you to catch the marble while consuming such that it does not block the liquid from being poured from the top (cool eh?!)
However, once you are finished, why not get the toy (Marble) inside? Well honestly, that sucker is pretty secure in there. I was not able to pull the top gasket off with tools, and of course, there is a fear of breaking the glass and being cut.
I looked up some videos, but these seem to entail a counter thread which simply did not exist on my bottle (ugh.. have I been taken for a ride?)
Well, probably.. but this led me to consider applying some heat to the top cap to ease the gasket off and drop the marble out (seems reasonable?).
Supplies
- Bucket of water
- Marble Pop (Ramune) x (The number of marbles you wish to collect)
- Lighter or torch
- Face mask (Respirator) suitable for filtering melting plastic fumes
- Heat proof gloves
Step 1: Consume and Enjoy Your Marble Pop in a Responsible Manner
YUM
Glug glug
YUM
Get the idea? good...
Step 2: Rinse Your Marble Pop Bottle
Step 3: Get the Pad Set Up
Place your ramune on a firm flame proof and heat proof surfact such as the top of a stove or barbecue.
Do this outside, and wear a mask to prevent inhalation of harmful plastic fumes (Please check with your local HW store for a suitable filter)
Step 4: Apply a Flame to the Top Collar of Your Marble Pop for Several Seconds
Be careful here, we are not trying to heat the glass at all which seems hazardous, we are simply trying to get combustion on the top plastic collar.
Note: After applying heat, this quickly turned into some decent combustion on the top gasket area which may even have a bit of a waxy inner core as this flame remained constant for several minutres.
Step 5: After About 4 Minutes or So, Your Torch Will Begin to Burn Out. Please Ensure You Do Not Leave the Flame Unattended.
Step 6: Remove the Marble
Although the marble was only somewhat warm for me, to save your soft weak fleshy clamps, please wear heat proof gloves for safety and simply empty the bottle and retrieve your marble.
Step 7: Polish the Little Guy
My marble had a bit of a waxy residue to scrape off...