Make Fire! Viewer Answers a Challenge
I felt like Tom Hanks in Cast Away as I raised my bundle of tinder and exclaimed, "I made fire!" Several months ago, I mentioned on air that I had never seen anyone who could rub two sticks together and make fire. By the time I stepped off the…
Latest Mentos Theory
... but I'm not buying it.
The Orlando Sentinel recently ran a article in their Weekend Leisure Playing with Food section by Jane Snow about the Mentos and Diet Coke experiment. They turned to Robert Wolke, chem professor at the University…
Space Camp for Teachers:
What do you call 102 teachers gathered together who are crazy about space science? Teacher Space Camp. I often write about my search for "amazing teachers" - teachers who truly inspire students to want to learn. Last week I paid a return visit…
Do Bubbles in Guiness Go Down?
... or is it an optical illusion? Richard Zare is a world-renowned chemist at Stanford University, and he has a particular fascination with bubbles. He recently showed why the bubbles actually go down the side of the glass when you first pull…
Mentos on MythBusters
I got a call from Steve Jacobs (right hand man to Don Herbert - "Mr. Wizard") who works as a consultant to the Discovery Channel. He told me that Adam and Jamie from MythBusters were going to do an episode on the whole Mentos phenomenon and…
EepyBird Guys Take Their Show on the Road
Fritz Grobe and Stephen Voltz, the Eepybird guys who turned the Mentos and Diet Coke experiment into art are jumping from the Internet to the mainstream media.
They appeared on David Letterman last Thursday night and on the "Today Show" Friday…
Orchestrated Chaos: A Mentos Tribute to Eepybird.com
I was in Talkeetna, Alaska when I received a call from my television producer. "Have you seen the Mentos video yet?" I asked which one she was referring to and she said, "The one with the two guys and 102 bottles of Diet Coke." I quietly snuck…
Does Diet Coke Really Produce the Best Results?
Believe it or not, research scientists have actually concluded that Diet Coke produces the best stream of flying soda (much to the joy of the Mentos Experiment enthusiasts). I received an email from Dr. Joe Maglaty, Director of Education Outreach…
Coca-Cola Company is “Blase” About the Mentos Experiment
The recent article in the Wall Street Journal reported that the marketing gurus at the Coca-Cola Company are not all that excited about the pop culture phenomenon. "It's an entertaining phenomenon," said Coke spokeswoman Susan McDermott. "We…
The Mentos People Speak Out
In a recent phone interview with a newspaper reporter, I speculated that the makers of Mentos, Perfetti Van Melle, were distancing themselves from the Mentos phenomenon. This was based on our numerous attempts to reach the marketing gurus at…