Mentos + Soda = Explosion (Comments)

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Mentos + Soda = Explosion

Status: True

Given the urban legend about kids eating pop rocks and soda, and then having their stomachs explode, I wouldn't have believed that mixing Mentos and soda could cause such a violent reaction. But after watching the video posted on WLTX's website, I do. (You need Windows Media Player to view it, and I had to click the "Trouble Viewing" button to make it work.) To summarize what the video shows, three Mentos are dropped into a bottle of soda, causing a geyser of soda to shoot up about three or four feet high out of the bottle. This really makes me wonder what would happen if you drank a can of soda and then downed a pack of Mentos. Personally I'm not planning to find out. I'm sure it wouldn't kill you, but I imagine it would fizz up into your throat and nose. WLTX provides this scientific explanation for the phenomenon:

Mentos contains a chemical known as ARABIC GUM (this is the ingredient that makes the mint "chewy"). This ingredient causes the surface tension of the water molecules to break even more easily, releasing more carbon dioxide gas at an astounding rate! .....The gas causes pressure to rapidly build inside the bottle which thrusts the soda upwards in a wonderful fountain-like BLAST!

Posted By: Alex | Date: Fri Sep 23, 2005 | Permalink | Total Comments: 160
Category: Food

Comments
Listed in chronological order. Newest comments at the end.

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My daughter did the mentos/cola reaction for her science fair...it was interesting. It seems that caffeine free cola has the largest reaction that we got. We used Cola, diet, caffeine free, and just to see we used Dr.pepper too. We also used another mint to see what would happen and well mentos did win the other mint did have a reaction in the caffeine free, all the other colas did not foam over. Interesting find I think.

Posted by Mrs. Panther in AB Cananda on Thu Feb 14, 2008 at 08:10 AM

ha ha you guys say "pop"
i just call it soda.. thats cute!! =)

Posted by becca in lake elsinore on Tue Feb 26, 2008 at 01:35 AM

It is mostly caused by nucluation...i spelled it wrong...thats when Co2 gets caught in the microscopic dents in the mento which creates bubbles. there are other things too such as the gum arabic. It can also be done with seltzer water....with less of an affect.

Posted by efACqf on Sat Mar 01, 2008 at 04:40 PM

omg u guys are all gay

Posted by x on Tue Mar 04, 2008 at 01:19 PM

this xperiment is pointless

Posted by Barrok Obama in hi on Tue Mar 04, 2008 at 01:25 PM

this was an old science project of mine but i guess i didnt do it right because it didnt explode like in the picture so i dont beleive that it went that high.

Posted by annonomus on Fri Mar 28, 2008 at 06:45 PM

I am going to do an experament, putting mentose with diet coke, regular coke, and carbanated water, on my calculations, the diet coke should react the most, but do you think that the other sodas might react better if at a cooler temperature? if you have any hypothasis, just e-mail me...

just so you know, i'm not an adult...i'm 15, so yeah...nothing to smart

Posted by Angie Bannister in Bowmanville, baxster St. on Fri Apr 18, 2008 at 08:12 AM

wow that really cool im doing a project for this this could help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by miranda tirpak on Thu May 01, 2008 at 10:46 AM

lol, thats great, did you find out some information??

Posted by Angela Bannister on Sun May 04, 2008 at 11:56 AM

if i drink pepsi & then swallow mentos will i blow up ?

Posted by isabel in florida on Sat Aug 23, 2008 at 08:52 AM

eye ated the mentoes and da diet cokez and feelz fine. i swallowed it all downz and nothing happenz lolz wait i feelz funny.

Posted by mentoes in in yer house on Tue Sep 09, 2008 at 01:32 PM

I did it and not im in the hospital. do the math people

Posted by lillyarntson in Shitland on Tue Sep 09, 2008 at 05:41 PM

Im testing this experiment on several different pops for a school science project.

Posted by Antonio in Ohio on Thu Oct 23, 2008 at 05:26 AM

LOL PLEASE let meh know if any1 trys putting in diet coke + mentos in mouth i wanna know da' facts.

Posted by Alex in Lake Zurich on Sun Oct 26, 2008 at 10:58 AM

i am doing a experiment on different kinds of soda and mentoes put together. Do you have any kind of refferences for it. it is for school.

Posted by charles dick in bentonville on Mon Nov 10, 2008 at 03:57 PM

wat up wat up ok listen to this i am doing a project on this and need to know every little step it takes to win the science fair so yea.

Posted by Autumn Pocan in Oneida on Wed Nov 19, 2008 at 11:01 AM

I love the mentos and coke experiment. I did it with my 4 year old son this weekend. He learned about chemical reactions and what a volcano looks like when it erupts. Cool stuff! We found another fun site with neat science experiments like this. I will put the link below for anyone interested.

http://weirdsciencekids.com/FunExperiments.html

Posted by John in USA on Fri Nov 28, 2008 at 11:25 PM

haha, im doing this experiment
witth my buddy ben in my class
for our annual school science fair.
i caqnt wait to try it out.
its goign to be some messy experimenting

Posted by MaireadF on Mon Dec 01, 2008 at 04:36 PM

this is cool i get to do this experiment at my school for a science fair so excited 4 it it looks like fun!

*Rachel*
*M*
*J*

Posted by Rachel M J in Alton in IL on Sat Dec 13, 2008 at 10:39 AM

HAPPY PERSON

Posted by bob in COLUMBUS, OHIO on Tue Jan 06, 2009 at 05:16 AM

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