# Can anyone disprove or debunk this urban myth? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 23, 2014, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-disprove-or-debunk-this-urban-myth/707976 "2014-12-23T00:38:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-disprove-or-debunk-this-urban-myth/707976/1 "2014-12-23T00:38:11Z")
Friend of mine swears that the best way to preserve the bubbles in opened champagne is to suspend a spoon in the bottle. He just inserts the handle of a teaspoon into the bottle and lets it hang there and he’s convinced that will keep the bubbly…bubbly. I can see no rational reason for it, and would, if it were left to me, just put a stopper in the bottle, to keep the pressure up and keep the bubbles in solution to the degree that increased pressure in the bottle would do - if only slightly. But the notion that an open bottle, even with a spoon hanging in it, would somehow keep the effervescence is ludicrous to me. But I’ve been stupid - and adamant - before, so I’m wondering if anyone knows of any evidence or science that would support this, to me, silly assertion. I doubt Cecil is listening, but this used to be right in his wheelhouse. In any case, Dopers - any help? xo, C. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-disprove-or-debunk-this-urban-myth/707976/2 "2014-12-23T00:46:46Z")
> [@CC](#): > > I doubt Cecil is listening, but this used to be right in his wheelhouse. Cecil listened: > **[Will a silver spoon in the neck preserve your leftover New Year’s Eve bubbly?](https://www.straightdope.com/21341873/will-a-silver-spoon-in-the-neck-preserve-your-leftover-new-year-s-eve-bubbly)** ETA: Someone else who actually tried it as well (and found that it didn’t work): > **[Can a Silver Spoon Keep Champagne Bubbly? I Decided to Find Out.](https://www.thekitchn.com/can-a-silver-spoon-keep-champagne-bubbly-i-decided-to-find-out-200505)** > > The task has been undertaken before, but I wanted to find out for myself: Will a silver spoon in an open bottle of bubbly keep it bubbly Drawing on my memory of middle school science projects, I designed the perfect experiment, then invited several... ---
**Author:** ![excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e8c25b/32.png) [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/excavating_for_a_mind)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-disprove-or-debunk-this-urban-myth/707976/3 "2014-12-23T00:48:42Z")
Sounds like bunk to me. I agree with you, a spoon hanging from the mouth of the bottle is not going to convince the co2 to stay in solution. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-disprove-or-debunk-this-urban-myth/707976/4 "2014-12-23T01:49:51Z")
I don’t think I’ve ever had the ocassion where I needed to keep an open bottle of champagne bubbly. It’s usually poured and consumed long before it could go flat. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-disprove-or-debunk-this-urban-myth/707976/5 "2014-12-23T01:53:20Z")
Why not just open two bottles, and put the spoon in one of them? ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-disprove-or-debunk-this-urban-myth/707976/6 "2014-12-23T02:00:03Z")
> [@Keeve](#): > > Why not just open two bottles, and put the spoon in one of them? Why not just open three bottles, and put the spoon in one of them and drink the third? ---
**Author:** ![DataX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@DataX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DataX)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-disprove-or-debunk-this-urban-myth/707976/7 "2014-12-23T02:20:27Z")
Christ - a search for this comes back with chefs and writers with “proof” it works: > **[Chef Hacks: Proof That a Spoon Can Keep Champagne Bubbly](https://www.grubstreet.com/2013/06/how-to-keep-open-champagne-bubbly.html)** > > And a scientific explanation why. > **[Keep Your Champagne Bubbly with a Spoon](https://lifehacker.com/keep-your-champagne-bubbly-with-a-spoon-5429665)** > > If you can't finish a bottle of champagne after you've popped the cork, don't dump it down the drain. Here's a handy trick that might keep it fizzy and drinkable for at least another day. Apparently they don’t get the idea of “proof” requires a control group So I’m guessing your friend has seen one of these reports with these “experts” who insist it works - while they would have gotten the same results if they had left regular champagne in the fridge. People like to belive stuff like this - I’d run my own tests, but this is beyond silly - and those that have run ACTUAL tests come up with the expected results. Apparently Champagne holds it bubbles if refrigerated VERY well - even better than just opened champagne - no I did not type that wrong - I’m not saying it is true, but Harold McGee (the guy that did the whole copper bowl thing with eggs and is a well known food science writer) is: [http://news.stanford.edu/pr/94/941221Arc4008.html](http://news.stanford.edu/pr/94/941221Arc4008.html) So if you are comparing opened refrigerated champagne after 24 hours - it is likely still to be pretty bubbly - compared to unopened champagne. Obviously what you have to compare is a spoon vs something else. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-disprove-or-debunk-this-urban-myth/707976/8 "2014-12-23T05:52:57Z")
What Cecil actually discovered when he tried it was that _your typical spoon handles won’t fit into the mouth of a typical 750 ml champagne bottle._ He concludes that nobody who makes this claim has ever actually, y’know, tried it. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-disprove-or-debunk-this-urban-myth/707976/9 "2014-12-23T17:44:40Z")
after reading Cecil’s report, I would conjecture that people, seeing the bubbles around the silver (spoon, chain, whatever) drew the conclusion that there more bubbles and went on from there. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-disprove-or-debunk-this-urban-myth/707976/10 "2014-12-23T17:52:26Z")
I knew someone about 30 years ago who did this with pop (soda) bottles and swore of the efficacy. Of course it’s not true. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-disprove-or-debunk-this-urban-myth/707976/11 "2014-12-23T18:15:20Z")
Found [this.](http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/sparkling-wine-teaspoon-myth/) > [@](#): > > …Then they sampled and scored the sparkling wines in a blind test. The result: Zare and his fellow testers did not detect any boost in the sparkle of the spooned bottles. A more recent, smaller-scale test on the television show MythBusters arrived at a similar conclusion. … ---
**Author:** ![Learjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-disprove-or-debunk-this-urban-myth/707976/12 "2014-12-23T20:59:42Z")
The best way to keep champagne from going flat is to drink it! ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2014, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-disprove-or-debunk-this-urban-myth/707976/13 "2014-12-24T01:33:24Z")
> [@Learjeff](#): > > The best way to keep champagne from going flat is to drink it! Or that’s the worst way, depending how you feel about champagne. (And your head the next morning.) Mythbusters also took this one on: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdHDtx71PhA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdHDtx71PhA) Not surprisingly, re-corking worked better for them. Putting a spoon in, I believe, was worse than just leaving the bottle open and unbespooned.