# Mr Wizard substances that do amazing things. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 4, 2013, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-wizard-substances-that-do-amazing-things/654842 "2013-04-04T18:24:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-wizard-substances-that-do-amazing-things/654842/1 "2013-04-04T18:24:26Z")
1. Metal that melts in your hand. 2. Water that instantly freezes when touched. 3. A gas that is so heavy that objects float on it. And more… Mr Wizard would have loved this stuff. I love it too. 😛 My favorite is the memory metal that pops back into its original shape. > **[6 Mind-Blowing Substances That Laugh in the Face of Physics](https://www.cracked.com/article_20361_6-mind-blowing-substances-that-laugh-in-face-physics.html)** > > These materials are often hard to get and/or incredibly dangerous, but they're worth it for the cool factor alone. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-wizard-substances-that-do-amazing-things/654842/2 "2013-04-04T18:40:14Z")
How about water that doesn’t boil, even over 212F? A couple of weeks ago I was heating water in a pot on the stove. After a few minutes I went to check on it, and it wasn’t boiling. At all. Not even tiny bubbles on the bottom. I started to reach for it, then BAM. The water exploded all over my kitchen (fortunately not over me), and what little remained in the pot was boiling furiously. I’ve seen that happen with microwaves, but never on a stovetop. ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-wizard-substances-that-do-amazing-things/654842/3 "2013-04-04T19:04:01Z")
That must have been one smooooooth pot! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-wizard-substances-that-do-amazing-things/654842/4 "2013-04-04T19:06:10Z")
> [@Dorjan](#): > > That must have been one smooooooth pot! :eek: No kidding. **tdn,** what brand of dishsoap (and metal polish) do you use? ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-wizard-substances-that-do-amazing-things/654842/5 "2013-04-04T19:11:12Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > No kidding. **tdn,** what brand of dishsoap (and metal polish) do you use? I don’t know. Dawn? I think I just own a really nice set of pots. They clean up really well. And I almost never stir things with metal utensils. ---
**Author:** ![Jman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jman/32/4416_2.png) [@Jman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jman)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-wizard-substances-that-do-amazing-things/654842/6 "2013-04-04T19:14:32Z")
And one even heating stovetop (doesn’t stove heated water avoid superheating due to convection?) ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_Tightlips](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/57b2e6/32.png) [@Joey\_Tightlips](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_Tightlips)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-wizard-substances-that-do-amazing-things/654842/7 "2013-04-04T19:34:14Z")
Cool! Mr Wizard had some great ones himself back in the day. A few of my favorites: 1. He had a fish tank of water and sprinkled this powder all over the surface (lycopodium?). When he reached into the tank to pull an object out, his bare hand wouldn’t get wet. If I recall correctly it was because the powder prevented the surface tension from breaking. 2. He had two clear liquids in separate jugs (looked just like water). He mixed them together into a clear jug and seemingly nothing would happen. Then after an exact amount of time had elapsed, the entire thing would turn completely black instantly. Freaky to see as a kid, but I think I’d be just as delighted to see it today. Dang, I miss Mr Wizard. Do they air reruns anymore? ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-wizard-substances-that-do-amazing-things/654842/8 "2013-04-04T19:44:21Z")
> [@Jman](#): > > And one even heating stovetop (doesn’t stove heated water avoid superheating due to convection?) It’s a gas stove. Yeah, it was weird! **Joey** , I remember those episodes. I’d love to see reruns, but I don’t think there are any. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-wizard-substances-that-do-amazing-things/654842/9 "2013-04-04T19:46:30Z")
> [@Dorjan](#): > > That must have been one smooooooth pot! :eek: I just scrolled to this post for some reason, and I totally took this post out of context. ---
**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:** [April 4, 2013, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-wizard-substances-that-do-amazing-things/654842/10 "2013-04-04T19:47:18Z")
Check out the Nova episode [Hunting the Elements](http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/physics/hunting-elements.html), especially the guy with the Periodic Table table. He has a mechanism to drop sodium into water, causing little explosions as hydrogen & oxygen separate. He also combines sodium with chlorine to create sodium chloride smoke. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-wizard-substances-that-do-amazing-things/654842/11 "2013-04-04T19:52:31Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > Periodic Table table. That is quite possibly the most awesome geek furniture ever. ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-wizard-substances-that-do-amazing-things/654842/12 "2013-04-04T21:51:34Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > That is quite possibly the most awesome geek furniture ever. [Runner up?](http://vimeo.com/8087038) (Video of table that walks when you push it )