Things You'll Need:
- Ruler
- Ziploc bags (sandwich size)
- Paper towel
- Scissors
- Marker
- 1-1/2 tbsp. baking soda
- 1/2 cup vinegar
- 1/4 cup warm water
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Step 1
Use a ruler and marker to mark off a 5" x 5" square of paper towel. When you've got it marked, use your scissors to cut it to size. This will serve as the basis for your "fuse" or time-release fuel packet.
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Step 2
Locate a Ziploc bag that doesn't leak. It may sound trivial, but it's very important that the seal is sound. You can test for this by filling a bag, zipping it up and turning it upside down (over the sink, of course). Sandwich bags with a sliding lock tend to leak less than the traditional, dual-colored zip-tab bags.
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Step 3
Place 1-1/2 tbsp. of baking soda squarely in the middle of your paper towel. Fold it like a letter, bringing both top and bottom to the middle. Next, fold the left and right sides to the middle. This should make a small but tightly folded square from which the baking soda will not leak.
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Step 4
Pour 1/2 cup of vinegar and 1/4 cup of warm water into your zipper bag.
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Step 5
Hold the fuel packet (paper towel square) in the lip of the zipper bag, trying not to get it into the vinegar and water mixture. Zip up the bag as best you can before dropping the packet into it. As soon as the packet hits the liquid, it's going to start fizzing, so you'll want to get the bag closed as quickly as possible.
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Step 6
Shake the bag, put it in the tub or on the ground and move away! The bag will inflate grotesquely before it simply explodes from the expansion of gas.
