Mentos Soda Rocket Directions

Artificially sweetened carbonated drinks: Half a rocket in the making.

Drop a few mint-flavored Mentos into a bottle of any artificially sweetened carbonated drink--Diet Coke is the beverage most famously combined with Mentos--and you'll have a geyser that shoots many feet into the air. This is because of an ion exchange that takes place when the Mentos begin to dissolve, leading the liquid to no longer be able to contain the carbonation. Extreme pressurization--then an explosion--is the result. For obvious reasons, this should only be attempted outdoors, well away from anything breakable, and with full awareness that you could come to injury if the hard-to-control bottle rocket happens to head for you.

Things You'll Need

• 2 liter bottle diet soda
• Mint Mentos roll

Instructions

1. Open a fresh 2-liter bottle of Diet Coke. You may use any other diet carbonated drink, but Diet Coke is reputed to give the best reaction. Naturally sweetened carbonated drinks may give a lesser reaction.

2. Remove the paper wrapper from a roll of mint-flavored Mentos, but don't remove the foil wrapper.

3. Drop the complete Mentos roll, plus foil wrapper, into the Diet Coke.

4. Screw the bottle closed and agitate vigorously for about five seconds.

5. Hold the bottle away from your face as you loosen the cap just enough to hear the liquid fizzing or hissing--about one turn.

6. Slam the bottle down on a hard surface, pointing it away from you. The resulting release of pressure will launch it immediately. Make sure to cover your face, as there's no way of telling which way the rocket will go.

Tips & Warnings

• Always do this outdoors, away from breakable objects including home and car windows. Be warned that this is dangerous, as you can't control the direction in which the bottle launches, and it travels very quickly to well over the height of a house.

References

• Zap2It: Mythbusters, Mentos and Diet Coke
• Gadget Lounge: Mentos Coke Rocket