Who would’ve though the “freshmaker” mints had the capacity to create a Mount Vesuvius . Just add a little diet Coke (I know, who drinks diet Coke? But bear with me…) and “Kapoom!”

Curious? Well let’s get cracking then.

 

 

You need:

A roll of mentos
A 2 litre bottle of Coke Light  

 

 

Method

  1. Open the bottle of Coke. Put it on the ground on a flat surface so that it won't fall over.
  2. Unwrap the roll of Mentos. The aim is to drop all of the Mentos into the bottle at the same time. This is trickier than it looks.
  3. One method for doing this is to roll a piece of paper into a tube just big enough to hold the Mentos. Position the tube directly over the mouth of the bottle so that all of the sweets drop into the bottle at the same time.
  4. Don't drop the Mentos into the bottle just yet! Warn anyone watching to stand back.
  5. Drop all of the Mentos into the bottle at the same time.
  6. Get out the way!

After probably ten packets of Mentos, litres of erupted coke and a whole lot of “Wows!” and “Cool!”, you’re probably scratching your head over this one.

Let’s explain:

Carbonated liquids like fizzy drinks contain high concentrations of carbon dioxide gas (CO²) dissolved in water.
When the Mentos is dropped into the fizzy drink, the carbon dioxide is released. Because the carbon dioxide gas was put into the liquid at high pressure, it is released at high pressure too.


Easy peasy.