Bellagio Fountains with Mentos – This Video is Amazing!
Let’s just cut to the chase… You have to see the Extreme Diet Coke & Mentos Experiments video at eepybird.com. These guys take the Mentos Fountain demo to a brand new level. I just took out stock in Diet Coke and Mentos candy because these creative geniuses have inspired a whole new level of soda bottle adventures. I know that many of you are already asking… are they going to be a part of the new Mentos book? I’ve contacted the “eepybird scientists” and we’ll see what happens next.
The original video went viral after it was played on VH-1’s “Web Junk 20.” Now everyone is experimenting with this own fountains and publishing them on the web. It has gotten so crazy, the videos have been mentioned on MSNBC, the Wall Street Journal Online, CNET News.com and even National Public Radio.
How did the eepybird.com scientists rig the bottles? From the info on their website, it looks like they’re using the “beads on a string” method… Here’s the exact information from their website…
So just how do you get geysers to go over 20 feet high? How do you get them to go off at an angle? How do ninjas feel about Dance Dance Revolution? Here are just a few of our secrets…
The Cartridge
The first big step is making a cartridge of Mentos. Holding a Mento with a pair of pliers, you can drill a small hole through the center. Do not drill a hole through your hand the way Matt did. Repeat: do not drill a hole through your hand the way Matt did.
String together five or six of your new “Mento-beads,” onto a straightened paper clip or a piece of fishing line.
The Cap
Holding a bottle cap with a pair of pliers, you can drill a hole (say 1/4 inch in diameter) through the top of the cap. Be careful here. If you are under age 35, please get help from an adult. Don’t forget Matt. We want you to have full use of all your fingers for many years to come.
Put the end of the paper clip or fishing line through the hole in the cap so that when you screw the cap onto the bottle, the cartridge will hang down inside, just above the soda.
Different size holes in the cap will make different size geysers. A 1/8 inch hole will make a tall geyser that lasts almost 30 seconds, whereas a 1/2 inch hole will last only 5 seconds. A 1/4 inch hole can get a geyser over 20 feet high.
The Crown
Again, no holes in hands, feet, arms, legs… Please. It is possible to drill holes in the bottle itself, above the level of the soda. By carefully drilling a ring of holes, you get what we call a crown: several geysers spraying out from one center. It looks cool, and it’s a great way to get yourself and everything within twenty feet of the bottle covered with soda.
As someone who has been doing my own version of the Diet Coke/Mentos for over a year now, I’m always pysched to see this taken to the next level. Even though I’m not a scientist (I just play one at work…), I love these types of experiements because it’s relatively simple to understand and can be explained in a cool way to prek-adult. And the look on kids faces when a 2-liter “explodes” in front of them is awesome.
I know Science City in Kansas City does a variation of this with Oxi Clean powder, but isn’t that hazardous to kids? At the museum I work at, we only do tricks like this with things kids aren’t going to get sick if the ingest…
Nice to see your video. everybody should do this experiments and check what do you get after this. it is nice making video which gives you more attention by easy steps