# How could I make a gag exploding birthday cake? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 18, 2010, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-i-make-a-gag-exploding-birthday-cake/557515 "2010-10-18T02:15:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-i-make-a-gag-exploding-birthday-cake/557515/21 "2010-10-18T13:04:52Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > In _Heston’s Feasts_, chef Heston Blumenthal wanted to make an ejaculating cake. On [the show](http://www.channel4.com/food/on-tv/heston-blumenthal/feast/roman-feast_p_7.html) he experimented with Mentos and Coke and dry ice and water. Without a vent he got a proper explosion and spattered everyone with cake. I would love to try making this cake. The non-exploding version. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-i-make-a-gag-exploding-birthday-cake/557515/22 "2010-10-18T13:08:28Z")
Another vote for: This is an amusing idea in theory, but in practice, you should be wearing Bad Idea Jeans. ---
**Author:** ![Fried\_Dough\_Ho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a88e57/32.png) [@Fried\_Dough\_Ho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fried_Dough_Ho)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-i-make-a-gag-exploding-birthday-cake/557515/23 "2010-10-18T13:27:45Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > Seconded. A “prank” is when your adult buddy passes out drunk and you decorate him with shaving cream and cigarette butts, and put pictures on the Internet. > > Blowing up a birthday cake in a little girl’s face is just mean. I am a third who started to read this thread with an inner child in me screaming, “please, please don’t do this.” Wheelz, you are not a killjoy but the first voice of reason and having a prank played on a young girl by an adult is not a prank, to the young girl it will only feel like everyone hates her and is getting a laugh at her expense. A pie-in-a-face scenario is fine when others are suffering or participating, but for a young girl’s birthday, let her enjoy her day without without being the brunt of a joke. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-i-make-a-gag-exploding-birthday-cake/557515/24 "2010-10-18T14:20:39Z")
And don’t forget, this is not a fully-functioning adult you’d be pranking. To a not-even-yet-a-teen girl, being embarrassed is worse than famine, cancer or nuclear annihilation. It’s the second-worst thing that could happen. The worst? Being embarrassed in front of your friends. Friends that can laugh about you behind your back at school, and tell that snotty Missy Randall who wasn’t invited, and her pompom squad friends will taunt you all the next week. And these days, somebody’d have it up on YouTube that afternoon. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-i-make-a-gag-exploding-birthday-cake/557515/25 "2010-10-18T15:33:26Z")
I have to agree with others that this is a weird and cruel idea. Unless this is done very safely and unless this girl has great self-esteem, I think damage could be done, physically and mentally. She goes from having a fun birthday to cleaning icing out of hair and possibly eyes. If you just have to play a gag, how about those self-relighting candles? ---
**Author:** ![may\_be\_ignorant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c5a1d2/32.png) [@may\_be\_ignorant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/may_be_ignorant)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-i-make-a-gag-exploding-birthday-cake/557515/26 "2010-10-18T15:52:44Z")
c4 ---
**Author:** ![This\_Just\_In\_2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@This\_Just\_In\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/This_Just_In_2)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-i-make-a-gag-exploding-birthday-cake/557515/27 "2010-10-18T15:57:27Z")
> [@Deeg](#): > > My 12-year-old niece is having a birthday in a few months and I’d like to pull a gag that has it explode in her face Seriously, she’s 12? This seems cruel. For what it is worth, to me it sounds like you can’t handle being on the sidelines while a little girl has a party that is for her. Do you feel a need to upstage it with your dramatic gag so that all anyone will remember about her birthday event is you you you? ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-i-make-a-gag-exploding-birthday-cake/557515/28 "2010-10-18T16:01:54Z")
What a cruel and sadistic idea. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-i-make-a-gag-exploding-birthday-cake/557515/29 "2010-10-18T16:12:26Z")
Actually, given that the OP apparently has something of a reputation, how about this? Do _nothing_ unusual about the cake. Nothing at all. But keep dropping hints about what _might_ happen. Like, tell her to cut the cake, hand her the knife, and then stand way back. Put the cake on an obviously carefully-prepared table, and make sure nobody sees the underside of it. Have cleaning supplies conspicuously closely available. Do the whole setup outside, or in a basement, or someplace else it’d be easier to clean up a mess, and firmly insist that she really doesn’t want to move it to the dining room first. Tell others “hey, watch this”, and make sure you have a camera running at the time. And do all of this with a wicked gleam in your eye. ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-i-make-a-gag-exploding-birthday-cake/557515/30 "2010-10-18T16:33:11Z")
Really dude, this is a stupid idea. Drop it and move on. ---
**Author:** ![AutumnLeaves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/45deac/32.png) [@AutumnLeaves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AutumnLeaves)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-i-make-a-gag-exploding-birthday-cake/557515/31 "2010-10-18T17:21:38Z")
That’s an awesome way to fast track yourself to creepy-Uncle-ville. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-i-make-a-gag-exploding-birthday-cake/557515/32 "2010-10-18T17:54:48Z")
Is there a specific reason you want to do this to her? Is she a brat or something? (Not that it would make it okay) Why not just have Justin Bieber jump out of the cake for her? ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-i-make-a-gag-exploding-birthday-cake/557515/33 "2010-10-18T20:22:50Z")
I appreciate the concern but you guys don’t know my nieces. I’m much more worried that the other niece will be mad that _her_ cake didn’t explode. Trust me to know my nieces–they will want an exploding cake for the next 5 years. I’m the uncle who throws them [slime parties](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=525766) every year which they _love_. Last year they smashed sardines into each other’s hair. (I am happy to say that neither of my nieces like Justin Bieber. It must be because I played The Ramones to put them asleep when they were babies.) The two ideas I like so far are: The catapult. What about sandwiching a mouse-trap between two pieces of cardboard? I can probably rig something up to trigger the trap, which would send the top piece of cardboard flying. The trap will be glued to the bottom to keep it from moving. Jello and whipped cream might make a good projectile. The biggest issue I can see is the myriad of ways that trap could do real damage. Air pressure. I might be able to buy one of those cheap toys that have an air bladder inside them attached to a pump. I could sandwich that between two pieces of cardboard as well. The main problem is concealing the pump and the hose, not to mention how to trigger it. What do you think of those? ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-i-make-a-gag-exploding-birthday-cake/557515/34 "2010-10-18T20:37:59Z")
I’d skip the directional part and make a ‘cake’ by coiling several of those balloons used for balloon animals into a cake shape and then frosting that with whipped cream or some other light icing. Make sure you have inflated the balloons to the maximum point you can before they would burst normally. Hand nieceling a sharp knife and get out of the blast zone. ETA: you might also frost it with shaving cream, or at least the ones you make for the trial versions. You will be making several test runs, right? ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-i-make-a-gag-exploding-birthday-cake/557515/35 "2010-10-18T20:54:26Z")
I like a sort of foot-pump idea. Start with a hollowed cake, filled with whipped cream. Have a footpump under the table, with a tube running to under the cake. Stomp the pump, air powered cream explosion ensues. You could even use a plastic bottle. Tell your niece she needs to wear shades cause the candles are so bright. Si ---
**Author:** ![acetylene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@acetylene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/acetylene)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-i-make-a-gag-exploding-birthday-cake/557515/36 "2010-10-18T21:09:21Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > The next google hit I looked at said to fill the balloon with **acetylene** and set it off with a model rocket ignitor. I’ll give that one points for elegance, but her parents might be annoyed when she loses part of her face. Probably shouldn’t do it that way. I never agreed to this! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-i-make-a-gag-exploding-birthday-cake/557515/37 "2010-10-18T21:32:06Z")
> [@si\_blakely](#): > > I like a sort of foot-pump idea. Start with a hollowed cake, filled with whipped cream. Have a footpump under the table, with a tube running to under the cake. Stomp the pump, air powered cream explosion ensues. You could even use a plastic bottle. Tell your niece she needs to wear shades cause the candles are so bright. > > Si Hmmm…I like this. I could cut off the bottom of a plastic bottle, turn it upside down, and feed the air hose through the bottle mouth. If I fill it with whipped cream it would be semi-directional. I will have to do some testing. =D ---
**Author:** ![Saltire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saltire/32/553_2.png) [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-i-make-a-gag-exploding-birthday-cake/557515/38 "2010-10-18T21:47:08Z")
Perhaps an oozing or spraying cake? Try rigging a length of tubing to a can of aerosol whipped cream. If you put it into the cake so that the tube is just below the top frosting, it should spray cream. You could aim it wherever you want. If you put the tubing under the top layer of cake, the cream would ooze out the sides fairly rapidly, I should think. ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-i-make-a-gag-exploding-birthday-cake/557515/39 "2010-10-18T21:47:38Z")
> [@Deeg](#): > > Hmmm…I like this. I could cut off the bottom of a plastic bottle, turn it upside down, and feed the air hose through the bottle mouth. If I fill it with whipped cream it would be semi-directional. I will have to do some testing. =D Post photos 😉 Si ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-i-make-a-gag-exploding-birthday-cake/557515/40 "2010-10-19T04:38:10Z")
I hope you plan on keeping another cake in reserve – that way, at least there’ll be an actually cake-cake for everyone to eat. (Please though, at least check in advance to see that she doesn’t have some friends from school, including a crush coming. Just in case?) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-i-make-a-gag-exploding-birthday-cake/557515.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-i-make-a-gag-exploding-birthday-cake/557515.md?page=3)