I am not very brave, but if anybody is willing to share their odd experiment I will share mine.
I tried to create limestone concrete by dissolving limestone sand with mountain dew. Well actually I couldn’t find limestone sand so I used regular sand just to see what quartz sand and mountain dew would do over a period of a couple weeks.
The carbonation created bubbles in the sand that still held its shape even after all the liquid had evaporated. Then again once I pressed with my finger it instantly crumbled. Perhaps with real limestone sand it would create bubbly concrete.
I tried to construct a plasma weapon by running a pulse of current through a flame, whilst simultaneously attempting to propel it with an electromagnet driven by a bank of capacitors.
I figured this would work on the basis that:
Flames can be conductive
A pulse of current in a conductor generates a magnetic field
Another magnet can act on this field (and in turn, the conductor generating it).
Should have worked. Didn’t.
ETA: (however, I’m getting the vibe that maybe the OP’s experiment maybe wasn’t science-y)
I was trying to develop a strain of guppies that was chlorine resistant. I had about a 100 gallon tank that I would allow the guppies to breed up a good population and then I would gradualy add chlorine to kill off about 80% allowing the remaining guppies to breed and then repeat the process. I eventually screwed up and killed them all ending the project. I cringe now thinking about how cruel that was to the little guppies.
When I was a wee lad I eventually heard that electricity and magnetism were related.
A relative gave me a very strong little magnet. Hmmmm, you know if I turn on this hanging light socket, take the bulb out, and put the magnet close to the socket I might see something interesting.
Yes, when that magnet jumped right up into that socket and created a dead short I did see some interesting things. And later I felt a few as well.
Its a wonder I didn’t kill somebody or burn down the house during my Mr Science phase.
And did you know that a hair pin with a penny in it stuck into an electrical outlet isn’t a good thing either? Who knew?!
And then there was the diving bell. And thank God I never saved enough cash to buy some Edmund Scientific Weather balloons and a bunch of Helium ( I had done the math though).
I first read this as “puppies.” That would be some experiment.
At a time when I couldn’t afford much for gas, I experimented to see how pissy people would get if I drove 55 mph on the freeway.
Turns out, it’s pretty pissy.
Esteses Model Rocket Engine company “model rocket engines are perfectly safe. They are almost impossible to accidentally ignite and there is no method of mishandling them where they can explode”
Bullshit. Put one in a vise nozzle side up. Put a nail in the nozzle. Tap with a hammer. The third lite tap seems to be the charm.
Lying bastards. Where’s my eye drops and hearing aid?
Well you proved them wrong! Experiment a success!
Been there; done that. Didn’t work with kittens, either.
Not sure what the experiment was exactly, except to do something cool, but a friend and I filled a 2 liter bottle about a quarter full of gasoline and then lit the fumes coming out the top. So far so good. Accidentally knocked the bottle over… Big oops.
but how are the puptens doing?
Once I plugged in a drop cord that had been cut in half, just to see what happens. Apparently it t dents linolium and the sub flooring beneath when the electricity causes the wire to snap like a whip.
When I was 16 I put half a can of butane lighter fluid into a garbage fire to see the result. Four ounces of pressurized butane makes a human sized fireball.
Around the same age I lit a firecracker in the boys room to see how it would echo. It was loud enough and echoed enough to vibrate the mirrors loose. Also got me a weeks suspension.
All accidents, I imagine.
We did something sort of similar, but with yeast. We homebrew now and then, and one of the easiest things to make is hard apple cider. SpouseO wanted to create a really high-octane cider, so we kept spiking it with sugar - the yeasties would eat a ton, grow, and burp out the alcohol, but the alcohol is toxic to them, so a bunch would die. Rinse and repeat with the ones that made it. I think we finally got to something like 10% - 12% alcohol (normal cider runs 4%- 5%, like beer), but it really wasn’t that great. Probably not something we’ll repeat.
Camping. I really like sugar in my coffee. No sugar. Wait, I have some Sprite (or maybe it was 7 Up). Okay, that’s just carbonated sugar water that taste a bit lemony right? I’ll make the coffee with that, boiling off the carbonation and will have some slightly lemony coffee.
Undrinkable.
And then there was my attempt to make cheese and onion enchelaidas with catsup and American cheese slices. Just needs a few spices to fix it right up am I right?
Ah, college.
That was a pretty good experiement. I kind of considered it once but they have super turbo yeasts on the market now that will go up to 18% I have heard. That is some strong cider.
Thanks for the warning if I ever run into you camping!
I must say my recent experiments in cross species homosexual relations regarding raccoons are not turning out as promising as I had first hoped.