# Mexican Jumping Beans **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 14, 2000, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexican-jumping-beans/29240 "2000-08-14T02:29:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Snetho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a4c791/32.png) [@Snetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snetho)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2000, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexican-jumping-beans/29240/1 "2000-08-14T02:29:34Z")
What makes Mexican Jumping Beans jump? Gas or worm? ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecccb3/32.png) [@Lord\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2000, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexican-jumping-beans/29240/2 "2000-08-14T03:04:08Z")
It’s a worm, here’s how it works from [How Stuff Works](http://www.howthingswork.com/question265.htm). Jim ---
**Author:** ![Ura-Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/51bf81/32.png) [@Ura-Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ura-Maru)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2000, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexican-jumping-beans/29240/3 "2000-08-14T03:13:59Z")
One of the more pathetic letdowns of my childhood, I might add. Calling the slight wiggle that those guys occasionally manage to pull off “jumping” is an exageration akin to refering to the 20 minute lifespan of a gobstopper as “everlasting.” – “Brought to you by Vermont. The other, smaller, Wisconson.” ---
**Author:** ![Homer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/df788c/32.png) [@Homer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homer)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2000, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexican-jumping-beans/29240/4 "2000-08-14T03:29:31Z")
Fuckin’ sea monkeys. –Tim ---
**Author:** ![Steve-o](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecc23a/32.png) [@Steve-o](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve-o)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2000, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexican-jumping-beans/29240/5 "2000-08-14T03:38:31Z")
No $h1t **Homer** … I don’t think that I was ever so excited to get something in my life (up to that point 😉 ), only to be severly let down. As a matter of fact, I think this is my cue to get a new sig line… ---
**Author:** ![Steve-o](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecc23a/32.png) [@Steve-o](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve-o)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2000, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexican-jumping-beans/29240/6 "2000-08-14T03:40:00Z")
Let’s try that again… (see, I knew it wouldn’t work… thanks Sea Monkeys 😉 ) ---
**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2000, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexican-jumping-beans/29240/7 "2000-08-14T12:09:37Z")
- - - Search the archives. - MC ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2000, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexican-jumping-beans/29240/8 "2000-08-14T14:07:29Z")
The Mexican Jumping Beans we got as kids were pretty peppy. I had some jump 3-5 inches, right out of my hand. Maybe we got fresher ones since I lived closer to Mexico… :D:D ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2000, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexican-jumping-beans/29240/9 "2000-08-14T19:07:13Z")
I had a Mexican Jumping Bean when I was little. It wasn’t disappointing at all–that thing could JUMP! One day it quit jumping though. The next time I thought to look at it (I stored it in a little plastic box), the worm had burrowed its way out and had molted, becoming a little moth! I let the moth go.