# Mentos and Diet Coke-Brilliant **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 5, 2006, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mentos-and-diet-coke-brilliant/359436 "2006-06-05T02:24:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2006, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mentos-and-diet-coke-brilliant/359436/21 "2006-07-04T14:55:17Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > The guys in the video cheat a little bit. They drill a small hole in the cap bead three or four Mentos onto a string, then put them under the cap and screw the cap back on. When they let go of the string, the Mentos drop into the soda and the foam shoots out the little hole. [Taking the cap off and dropping them in is probably a bit dangerous](http://www.kmox.com/pages/46029.php?imageGalleryXRefId=5443). ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2006, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mentos-and-diet-coke-brilliant/359436/22 "2006-07-04T15:04:36Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > [Taking the cap off and dropping them in is probably a bit dangerous](http://www.kmox.com/pages/46029.php?imageGalleryXRefId=5443). Doesn’t look particularly dangerous to me, unless you include the danger of running into one of those posts (or off the edge of the roof) in attempting to get away from the Coke-geyser. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2006, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mentos-and-diet-coke-brilliant/359436/23 "2006-07-04T15:32:54Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Doesn’t look particularly dangerous to me, unless you include the danger of running into one of those posts (or off the edge of the roof) in attempting to get away from the Coke-geyser. I was including the possibility of getting Coke in the eye. That can’t be good. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2006, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mentos-and-diet-coke-brilliant/359436/24 "2006-07-04T16:54:08Z")
I’ve been doing this in the backyard to entertain the kids for a month or two now. But try as I might I can’t get more than about a four foot geyser. Anyone have any tips on getting the whole ‘shoot to the sky’ effect going? ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2006, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mentos-and-diet-coke-brilliant/359436/25 "2006-07-04T17:00:40Z")
> [@Jonathan Chance](#): > > ``` > I've been doing this in the backyard to entertain the kids for a month or two now. But try as I might I can't get more than about a four foot geyser. > > ``` > > Anyone have any tips on getting the whole ‘shoot to the sky’ effect going? Won’t drilling the small hole in the cap make your geyser higher and stronger? _snicker_ That sounded way dirtier than I intended. I don’t know all the fancy technical terms, probably something about “occlusion” and “flow patterns” and stuff, but I know when I put my thumb over the hose nozzle, it makes it spray harder and further, without changing how much or how fast the faucet is putting water into the other end of the hose. ---
**Author:** ![Yeeter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/96bed5/32.png) [@Yeeter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeeter)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2006, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mentos-and-diet-coke-brilliant/359436/26 "2006-07-04T17:16:04Z")
I tried this at my buddies house. His kids loved it. Rolled a piece of paper up and stacked the mentos inside that, with another piece of paper below the tube to keep them from falling in. Pulled the paper out and ran. Yeehaw fun. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2006, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mentos-and-diet-coke-brilliant/359436/27 "2006-07-04T22:52:16Z")
**WhyNot** , I’m glad I’m not the only one finding this discussion getting a little risque. Oh well, you know what they say - a dirty mind is a terrible thing to waste. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2006, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mentos-and-diet-coke-brilliant/359436/28 "2006-07-05T00:23:23Z")
It is as [fun as it looks](http://tinani.c7f.net/michelle/Balls%2C-Mentos%2C-Sumo-Suits/91fe208fca22201a35bc0cd4be2e3d72). ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2006, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mentos-and-diet-coke-brilliant/359436/29 "2006-07-05T22:49:15Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > Big deal…we’ve been doing this in in Las Vegas for years. Check out the [Las Vegas huge Menthos/Diet Coke display](http://www.bellagio.com/pages/attrac_highfountain_noflash.asp#). Bastard, you stole my joke. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2006, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mentos-and-diet-coke-brilliant/359436/30 "2006-07-05T22:58:12Z")
> [@Jonathan Chance](#): > > I’ve been doing this in the backyard to entertain the kids for a month or two now. But try as I might I can’t get more than about a four foot geyser. > > Anyone have any tips on getting the whole ‘shoot to the sky’ effect going? If you drill a hole in the Mentos, and put a string or wire through them, then drill a hole in the cap to the soda, and put them under the cap, holding the string or wire taut, then screw the cap back on, you can then release the string or wire, they will drop into the soda, which will then be forced out of the hole in the cap, rather than the much larger mouth of the bottle. They also recommend trying drilling multiple holes in the cap for fancier effects. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2006, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mentos-and-diet-coke-brilliant/359436/31 "2006-07-05T23:11:03Z")
[Here ya go,](http://www.tabblo.com/studio/stories/view/14370/) all you need to make lovely foamy Coke geysers… ---
**Author:** ![JCorre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3da27b/32.png) [@JCorre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JCorre)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2006, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mentos-and-diet-coke-brilliant/359436/32 "2006-07-05T23:26:06Z")
Here’s a video where a bunch of guys use the reaction to rocket the bottles skyward. I also saw a similar one where they show them removing the outer paper wrapping of the mentos but leaving the inner wrapping on before they drop it in. I assume that it only takes a few moment for it to just come off by itself in the fluid. If you watch the video I’d reccomend turning the volume down or off. That song is annoying. [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1QLQtdtte0) ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2006, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mentos-and-diet-coke-brilliant/359436/33 "2006-07-16T20:07:50Z")
Another video: [http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/scottmills/galleries/47/1/](http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/scottmills/galleries/47/1/) ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2006, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mentos-and-diet-coke-brilliant/359436/34 "2006-07-16T23:54:54Z")
> [@audiobottle](#): > > According to the website, it’s all about the nucleation sites. Apparently Mentos have tons of little areas on it which bubbles can form around. Because it’s heavy enough to float to the bottom it reacts with the entire bottle and all those bubbles add up to one big geyser. My chemistry professor confirms this explanation, FWIW. ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mentos-and-diet-coke-brilliant/359436/35 "2006-07-17T00:49:54Z")
Darn, beaten barely into the thread by a real chemistry professor. I’m just a HS chem teacher, which puts me off the ladder of the rankings of scientists. I think I get to be in the room with the ladder, is all. Yeah, it’s the nucleation sites. The pressure comes from letting out all of the dissolved CO2. That bottle gets really stiff. I managed to make a couple decent rockets for my classes. I also did it with Certs when 7-11 didn’t have Mentos. It’s just all a way to get out all the dissolved gas inside a minute. ---
**Author:** ![Rysdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7cd45c/32.png) [@Rysdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysdad)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mentos-and-diet-coke-brilliant/359436/36 "2006-07-17T01:58:29Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > The guys in the video cheat a little bit. They drill a small hole in the cap bead three or four Mentos onto a string, then put them under the cap and screw the cap back on. When they let go of the string, the Mentos drop into the soda and the foam shoots out the little hole. I did that one. It made a neat spray about 8 feet high at first, then it settled down to a foamy 2-foot arc that lasted about 10 seconds. It was kinda neat. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mentos-and-diet-coke-brilliant/359436.md?page=1)