# So what DOES happen when you mix Pop Rocks and soda? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 21, 2007, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-does-happen-when-you-mix-pop-rocks-and-soda/404930 "2007-05-21T15:22:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**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:** [May 21, 2007, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-does-happen-when-you-mix-pop-rocks-and-soda/404930/1 "2007-05-21T15:22:37Z")
Just curious-does it make for greater fizz, or start you foaming at the mouth? Enquiring minds want to know. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2007, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-does-happen-when-you-mix-pop-rocks-and-soda/404930/2 "2007-05-21T16:09:25Z")
Nobody knows. Doesn’t that tell you anything? DON’T DO IT, YOU FOOL! YOU’LL DOOM US ALL!!! -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2007, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-does-happen-when-you-mix-pop-rocks-and-soda/404930/3 "2007-05-21T16:25:24Z")
On a related note: We have some of those Airborne cold prevention tablets that you throw in water and let dissolve. They’re kind of like Alkaseltzer except they have a slightly sweet fruit flavoe to them. When you throw them in the water they just fizz like mad and when I touched my tongue to one it immediately started to fizz. Is there any harm in giving one to someone as a joke telling them it’s candy? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2007, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-does-happen-when-you-mix-pop-rocks-and-soda/404930/4 "2007-05-21T16:31:32Z")
[QUOTE=Ask.Yahoo from Snopes] Some argue that soda is dangerous enough all on its own because of the long-term negative effects of an overly sugary diet. But as for ingesting Pop Rocks and soda together, it didn’t kill Mikey, and it won’t kill you. The worst that can happen is a sugar rush and a satisfying belch. [/QUOTE] Check out the Snopes article on it. > **[Did Pop Rocks and Soda Kill 'Little Mikey'?](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/pop-rocks-soda/)** > > Despite best efforts to comfort consumers, wild stories about the perils of mixing Pop Rocks and soda have always abounded. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2007, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-does-happen-when-you-mix-pop-rocks-and-soda/404930/5 "2007-05-21T17:10:49Z")
[QUOTE=Hampshire] Airborne cold prevention tablets…Is there any harm in giving one to someone as a joke telling them it’s candy? [/QUOTE] Without knowing what exactly is in the tablets, generally speaking yes it’s a terrible idea to give someone any form of medicine without informing them. ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2007, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-does-happen-when-you-mix-pop-rocks-and-soda/404930/6 "2007-05-21T17:17:43Z")
Airborne contains nothing but vitamins and assorted nutriceuticals, including, but not limited to, Vitamins A, C and E; Riboflavin; Magnesium; Zinc; Selenium; Manganese; Sodium; Potassium; Amino Acids; An Herbal Extract Blend, which includes Echinacea, Maltodextrin and Forsythia. > **[Can Airborne Really Help Prevent Colds and Flu?](https://www.verywellhealth.com/airborne-supplement-770675)** > > Airborne is a supplement with amino acids, herbal extracts, electrolytes, antioxidants, vitamins, and other ingredients to support immune function. Hardly qualifies as “medicine”, IMO. I wouldn’t give fizzy effervescent tablets to someone as a joke without telling them they were gonna fizz, mainly because some people freak when they get weird unexpected stuff going on in their mouths, and you wouldn’t want your friend to choke and possibly inhale the foamy mess. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2007, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-does-happen-when-you-mix-pop-rocks-and-soda/404930/7 "2007-05-21T17:56:07Z")
[QUOTE=Duck Duck Goose] Hardly qualifies as “medicine”, IMO. [/QUOTE] I would tend to agree in this instance it probably wouldn’t do any harm but I stand by the general notion of not giving someone medicine without their knowledge. Agree also about the fizzy issue. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2007, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-does-happen-when-you-mix-pop-rocks-and-soda/404930/8 "2007-05-21T18:06:47Z")
[QUOTE=Duck Duck Goose] some people freak when they get weird unexpected stuff going on in their mouths. [/QUOTE] Trust me, this is true. ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2007, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-does-happen-when-you-mix-pop-rocks-and-soda/404930/9 "2007-05-21T18:42:50Z")
After having heard the “Mikey” rumor about Pop Rocks and soda being lethal, my adventurous brother had to experiment on himself by downing the deadly duo. Nothing happened to him except a gassy stomach and a lot of burping and farting. He ruined a nice t-shirt, too, since the grape-flavored Pop Rocks foam overflowed his spittlecatcher and landed on his shirt, staining it purple. ---
**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:** [May 23, 2007, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-does-happen-when-you-mix-pop-rocks-and-soda/404930/10 "2007-05-23T22:49:07Z")
Well, I tried it. NOTHING happened. Nothing. No extra fizz, no excessive belching, nothing. If anything, the pop made the candy LESS fizzy. (Would it being diet have anything to do with it?) :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2007, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-does-happen-when-you-mix-pop-rocks-and-soda/404930/11 "2007-05-24T00:17:20Z")
Mythbusters tried it, too, and nothing happened. It was an eerily disturbing experimental setup, though, involving a fake human skeleton and a pig stomach. ---
**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:** [May 24, 2007, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-does-happen-when-you-mix-pop-rocks-and-soda/404930/12 "2007-05-24T00:51:38Z")
[QUOTE=Sattua] Mythbusters tried it, too, and nothing happened. It was an eerily disturbing experimental setup, though, involving a fake human skeleton and a pig stomach. [/QUOTE] Heh. No, I was just hoping I’d get a mouthful of foam, and this major popping sensation in my mouth. Dammit. Like **pinkfreud** ’s brother. Dammit, that sucked. I DID hear about a little girl who ate them in ice cream, (Baskin-Robbins) and because they were frozen, they didn’t disolve until hours later, giving her HORRIBLE gas pains. Poor thing. ---
**Author:** ![Sine\_Nomine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sine_nomine/32/513_2.png) [@Sine\_Nomine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sine_Nomine)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2007, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-does-happen-when-you-mix-pop-rocks-and-soda/404930/13 "2007-05-24T01:03:56Z")
A few years ago, my sister was visiting me and we went shopping. For some reason that I can no longer recall, the topic of Pop Rocks came up and I told her I’d never tried them. She told me they were good, so we found some. We were in a silly mood, so we had the idea, “Hey, let’s get some soda, too, heh heh.” So we placed them together on the conveyor belt at the check-out line, thinking ourselves so witty. We tried the mixture and, similar to your experience, **Guinastasia** , the soda made the candy less poppy. We were really disappointed. The good news is, we now have an inside joke about Pop Rocks (we’re twins, so everything turns into an inside joke). I sent her Pop Rocks for our birthday one time. ---
**Author:** ![TimeWinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2007, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-does-happen-when-you-mix-pop-rocks-and-soda/404930/14 "2007-05-24T01:18:36Z")
[QUOTE=Duck Duck Goose] Airborne contains nothing but … which includes Echinacea… Hardly qualifies as “medicine”, IMO. [/QUOTE] Echinacea interferes with the proper function of some heart medications. “Death” usually isn’t the punchline you’re looking for. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2007, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-does-happen-when-you-mix-pop-rocks-and-soda/404930/15 "2007-05-24T01:41:15Z")
I think [this is the kind of reaction the OP was looking for.](http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2671683668688745608&q=mentos+coke&hl=en) If you liked the original, [here is the sequel.](http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-274981837129821058&q=mentos+coke&hl=en) Mentos and Diet Coke. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2007, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-does-happen-when-you-mix-pop-rocks-and-soda/404930/16 "2007-05-24T03:34:04Z")
necessary anecdote: One time my wife and I were traveling from point A to point B with a stopover in Las Vegas. We had a little bit of time there so I figured “Hey I think I’ll have a beer to make the trip a little more tolerable.” First though, I had some acid in my stomach so I asked my wife for two (apparently red colored) Tums. The bartender asked “Do you want the 16 Oz beer or the 32 Oz beer?” I thought “Gee I have some time, I’ll have the 32 Oz beer.” Most of the beer went down OK, but as I got towards the end I felt sick. I felt nauseous. I had a bit left in the beer and I could not help but spit up some foam into it. Something was clearly wrong in my opinion but I dare not tell my wife. We decided it was time to go. As we left the bar my stomach exploded out my mouth. There was no aspect of control I had. Red foam spewed out my mouth and people were saying “Oh my God!” We decided to get outa there quick! We caught our flight and acted like we did nothing. I will never again mix Tums and beer.