Episode 57: Diet Coke and Mentos
Air Date: August 9, 2006
Why does dropping Mentos into a bottle of Diet Coke create a geyser effect?
Mostly because the Mentos provide nucleation sites for the dissolved carbon dioxide in the Diet Coke to escape as a gas. Other active ingredients in the cascade-effect reaction include aspartame (artificial sweetener), potassium benzoate (preservative), and caffeine in the Diet Coke; and gum arabic and gelatin in the Mentos. The ingredients seem to have a perfect compatibility with each other and, when mixed together and added to the nucleation, creates a chemical reaction that forces the soda to release all of its dissolved carbon dioxide at once, thus causing a more violent eruption than carbonated water alone.
(This is the first segment not to be assigned a "busted", "plausible" or "confirmed" rating, as there was no "myth" to be proved or disproved. Adam and Jamie did the tests simply to dissect the process and determine what actually makes a so-called Diet Coke geyser work.)
A stamp placed on the rotor of a helicopter can unbalance the spinning rotors enough to cause it to crash.
busted
A stamp in a controlled scale test did not cause any changes to the helicopter rotor’s rotation. The Mythbusters immediately ramped up the test to the scale of 8,000 stamps, which destroyed the scale model helicopter. The full-sized test also produced the same results as the stamp did not cause the helicopter to crash and, according to the pilot, did not cause any significant change in the way the helicopter flew. A stamp placed on the tail rotor also did not cause any noticeable change.
Newer: Episode 58: Shattering Subwoofer
Older: Episode 56: Killer Whirlpool
I have a question. What’s with the addition of dry ice to the Diet Coke + Mentos mixture? Does dry ice as a variable have any effect to Diet Coke + Mentos geyser effect?
I tried this it doesnt work!!!
I recently (Jul 07) received an email (not dated) making the following statements that relate to the ‘diet coke geyser’:
Alexander B. Mergenthaler from the chemical institute l’Institut USP (France) verified and practically proved that the substance from Coca Cola “Light, Acesulfame K INS930, mixed together with the Menthos sweets, releases a deadly chemical reaxtion known as Ta9V4. In a very short time this combination produces and releases huge quantities of gas under high pressure – an explosion!
“..a pupil of primary school Dante Alighieri from São Paulo, Brazil, died..”
“The cause of the child’s death was the mixture of the substances in the two foods.”
How can i find out if this is true?
Isabelle, dry ice is simply solidified Carbon dioxide
i was just wondering if the reaction would occur much more quickly if the mentos were crushed?
im doing this for a science project (experement) and i used diet coke, and pepsi. the pepsi worked better than coke, even tho they have the same ingredents, why is that?
“Andrew:
i was just wondering if the reaction would occur much more quickly if the mentos were crushed?”
Probably, I watched a science show where they used different substances to get the geyser. Salt for example will produce the same effect.
Im also goin to do a science project on mentos and coke, and i was wondering if i shoud consider the shape and texture of the mento as a variable?
Im doing this for a science project and we have to get different variables for it. What would be good choices of variables?
you probably wanna isolate the ingredients like adam and jamie did and see wich one react thats what im doing
Does it have to be Mentos or could it be another kind of mint like Altiods or something? And does flavor matter?
what would happen if you ate a mento and drank diet coke at the same time?
The first time I heard about this “myth” (not really a myth, it’s a hoax), I smirked. When I was a child, I did what every curious child would do, I added sugar to my Coke. The result was a lot of foam, the drink released all its gas in a few seconds! It was not explosive, but it was very funny (for a child). When I heard someone died after drinking Coke and eating Mentos, I recalled the Coke+sugar experiment. No big deal, it was an obvious hoax. Adding obscure references like an inexistent Ta9V4 substance and a dead boy in Brazil was just too much (by the way, I live in Brazil and I know that school, there was no such “explosive death”, I assure you all). If you are still adding Mentos to Diet Coke, sorry, but you are doing it wrong. If it didn’t work with sugar and normal Coke, it will never work with Mentos and sugarless version of Coke…
yo lo intente con mentos y coca cola regular y no jalo ! ——– i tried it with mentos and regular coke, and it does not works !
WHAT KIND OF MENTOS DOES IT HAS TO BE ?
uhm can anybody giv tips for a higher geyser. i’m doin this for a science fair thing.
It is so cool. My whole 6th grade did it with our Science teacher. It really works. She told us to bring in 2 liter Diet Coke and we did it because we are studying geysers!
I like mentos :o & coke with my lunch it gives
` a bit of a fizz to my life
now ive got a question if you had an object about the size of a mento and the same shape (but not a mento) would it technally have the same reaction?
does diet coke and mentos combiened give a explosion?
i think u have to much time on ur hands i mean who would even bother to test all these things??
i have to do this for a sience project as well D:
Coke zero has a better geyser effect than diet coke.
my friend and i are doing this for the science fair
we are going to win
thanks for the idea peeps
xoxoxoxo ttyl,
gigi & rae
how is that theases 2 mixare compare
my name is bnorm
do you guys have a video about your guys experiment(s)…
@ one site it said the coke and mentos is a physical reaction and the guy is a scientist
IF you add a “dimple” or a hole in the middle and the middle of the other side it proves to be a higher geyser. mine went 11 feet with that and 7 Mentos. I don’t think fruit Mentos work but i know that all these other sites (like sciencebuddies.com) says that you must use mint Mentos.
YOU MUST USE MINT!!!
WHAT KIND OF SCIENCE IS THIS?????
I did this for a science experiment and it was awesome! However, I tried closing the bottle and screwed up. Anybody else try this? Does it burst?
I am doing this for a science project as a class @ school, i am using diet cherry coke and diet coke…do you think that flavor matters
My teacher says that diet seven up works
why dont you put mentos in befor the coke
how can you make the boom bigger
can you make it into a bomb
my teacher says that there are too many non controllable variables in this experiment. can anyone tell me how to stabilze this project. whether i should add some things to it or take some things out!?!?!?!?
but if u eat a taco it will work
lexis yes you need to take some things out.
ok me and my friend matthew are doing the science project on mentos and coke can any won give me any tips on how to do it should i crush it or should i use somthing be sides diet coke i need some tips and you will be in coleded in my science project. shoul i freze the bottle then thath it out or just leave it be.
shode i put a hole in a mintos is it beter than a hole one if so thank u and i will do it me and my friend will be happey and have a pie if it works and i like pie
I tried the Diet Coke and mentos geyser for my science fair project…and regular coke works better than the diet coke…my highest point with diet was, i think 4.5 feet…and the regular was like 7.3 feet…anyway…you guys inspired me to do that so thanks for the idea!!!
what ingredients in the mentos and soda cause this reaction
i just tried it and it didn’t react quite as well as on the show. but my question is since i used a sugar free mentos is that why it didn’t react nearly as impressively as on the show. does anyone happen to know if that is why it didn’t work nearly as well as on the show..
we are doing an experiment with coke and mentos, in science and we were wondering what the ingredients are to make this explosion happen. We found out that it doesn’t matter whether we use mint of fruit mentos and whether we use coke or diet coke.
could you help us by telling us what we need to mix in order to get the explosion???
Hi! we still have another question in addition to the others… what ingredients should be isolated?
I am 8 1/2 and your show is my favorite! I picked the coke/mentos experiment for my third grade science project and am really excited to get started. Keep up the good work. PS I got an A in Science for this report card! Brian in Malabar, FL
you
me and one of my friends are doin this for an science project and we tested it and works very good
what size bottles should u use? 2 liters?
r u supposed to put a whole roll of mentos in at once?
hey man this thing really does work
i did it for my science project it got me a 95% so it has to be pretty good lol
made my mark go up but ya thanxz for the idea …
i am doing an experiment also for my 6th grade science fair and i was wondering if anyone knew which soda works best?
someone at my school did that and got in huge trouble.
p.s. he had to clean it up.
My God Brother is doing this for his Science Project and we are using fruit mentos and mint, along with other types of soda. so far we know for sure that mint works better and goes even higher with ANY type of diet soda.
Hi, What kind of soda is best?
and do u crush the mentos Or wot?
dus it haf 2 be mentos at all?
In the Diet coke and Mentos experiments, the Myth Busters attempted to try to find something which would rival the Diet Coke and Mentos “phenomenon” and they put dry ice in an empty 2 liter bottle. They put water in with the dry ice to help it sublimate (turn from a solid into a gas without turning into a liquid) quicker. It caused a large “explosion.”
The mythbusters also said that you should use diet coke, and use whole mentos (without crushing them or cutting them).
RE: Mentos
I noticed claims on the Wikipedia article for Mentos that gelatin is NOT an ingredient in Mentos, but at the time that this episode aired, it may have been an ingredient in the mentos.
To follow the experiment which the MythBusters performed (and to duplicate the circumstances of which they tested), you should use 2 liter bottles of Diet Coca-Cola and regular mint mentos. However, if the experiment does not work, it may be due to some changes in the ingredients between now and the time the episode aired. (Please note that these instructions are to the best of my knowledge, and that these are the instructions which I can take from the episode.)
To all who want to know about dc&m;
The Ingerdients that need to be isolated are above these comments-”…aspartame (artificial sweetener), potassium benzoate (preservative), and caffeine in the Diet Coke; and gum arabic and gelatin in the Mentos.”
Not only that, but it needs to be the origional mint Mentos, without the glaze on it. Diet Coke works the best because of the amount of CO2 in it, added with the chemical make-up that make it so unstable.
Salt will work as well, as it too will break the fragile balance between the liquid, and the CO2: however, other sodas will work, but without the same result.
Crushing the mentos gets rid of the nucleation, which is when the bubbles of CO2 form in the small pits on the suface of the Mentos, and then rise to the surface. You will not get as good of an explosion.
By the way, eating a mentos, then drinking soda will still cause the reaction of ingredients, which might make your stomach explode, or just puke.
What Chemicals in the soda and the mentos arract
Hi Guys,
I particularly enjoyed the stamp on the helicopter experiment. I would imagine that any engineer worth his salt would design enough fault tolerance into a rotor head and tail rotor to deal with an out of balance of the order of a postage stamp. Would it be conceivable that a similar weight foreign object on a critical aerodynamic area of a blade could cause a failure ? I remember reading an article on propellor blade cracks on fixed wing aircraft eventually traced to landings on unsealed strips resulting in nicks in the leading edges of the blades, pilot inspects prop prior to take off and IAW operations manual smooths the nicks by filing but doesn’t maintain the correct profile of the blade edge, resultant aerodynamic buffetting from turbulence causes fatigue cracking of the damaged blade.
Cheers
Phil
I am doing an expirement with mentos and diet soda of different brands. I want to see if the different soda has a stronger chemical reaction with mentos any suggestions?
hi wats this bout im so bored wanna get high and laid oo lala hope my teacher aint behind me shes a dik haha like my yahoo lolness soo bored suposed to be working on my science project but not =]]
that eposide was awesome i saw it and told my teacher and so now we are doing as a test i got sprayed like crazy b/c we are learned about homogenous and heterogenous mixtures well thankx u guys are awesome
Judging by the comments, Mentos and Diet Coke have some very negative psychological effects which should have been studied before telling millions of impressionable children to combine them!
i think is fake, i’m gonna prove that the next week, xoxo
lu
this is so cool i tryed it and it was cool. but do you think it was a physical
or chemical change? or both?
ok well im doing this exparement for my science fair and im having some trouble finding info on the active ingredients can you help
does coke and pepsi make a difference in the mentos experiment.
Dear Mythbusters,
I’m doing a science fair project on the mentos and diet pepsi(or soda) experiment.
I was wondering what you did to complete the experiment and if you can give my reliable information on it.
It would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
does it exploed when you use fruity mentos?
mentos r awesome, i am doing somwthing similar with my science fair project, we’re changing the types of sodas
I think what they did was very interesing in my eye but I would prefer to use Dr. Pepper than Diet Coke by the way theres nothing diet about it
can you guys give me your results of the hieght when you did the exploding soda
THAT IS A LOAD OF CRAP BECAUSE IT IS A PHYSICAL REACTION. WHO DON’T KNOW THAT BESIDES JUDY CARPENTER BECAUSE OF YALL NOT YEN OR YOUSE YOU YANKEES.
do flavored mentos have a different effect
To add to your list of other attepmted fads to beat the diet coke and mentos, there is an experiment called elephants toothpaste. The try at home version uses hydrogen peroxide, yeast and detergent. But a more full on version is sodium or potassium iodide and nydrogen peroxide.I think thats the combination. My science teacher showed it to me and it certainly was entertaining.
im doing the diet coke mentos geyser for a science expirament.im trying to see if the coke works better or the pepsi, but im kinda of confused aboutit. should i use a paper tube with mentos in it and a pin in the bottom to hold the mentos in and when i have it over the 2 liter pull the pin and they go in or should i drop each one in one a time?
will they make a diffrence?
i am going to try pepsi with mentos and dry ice than see how high it goes. Then i will put mentos and pepsi with vinegar and see how high it goes. That is my science fair project expermint
im doing this for a science project. is diet coke the only pop that will work?
im doing the diet coke/mento geyser for a science project. What other items can be used beside soda (salt, altoids). What would happen if you ate a mento and drank a coke at the same time. What is in the mentos and soda that actually causes the explosive reaction. What is needed for the experment: a 2 liter of soda, how many mentos is needed. Any suggustion is great. Thanks Preston
Thanks Mythbusters, this is really going to help with my project ^^
Hey Mythbusters, I love your show and I have a question that I would like you to answer. Do mouthwashes really kill and keep away bacteria?
Is it a myth that a soldier can shoot a .30 cal full metal jacket military bullet down the barrel of an enemy tank and detonate the round before the tank can fire it at them?
mentos and coke is cool. whats more cool is the is the way some of you are asking why it happens and what causes it. Keep asking questions!
can you drink the coke after the experiment is done?
what dum person thaught about diet coke and mentos
Hello i would first like to say your show is one of my favorits and also a very educational. well why i am really typing this and ps i no that you are done with this myth but i was looking for some feed back see i did my since fair project on 4 differant types of soda yousing mentos i yoused the 2L gugs of soda and i tryed diet coke, coke, diet pepsi with no caffen, and pepsi, now my hypothosis was that the diet coke would react the best to the mentos but i found that i was wrong it did the worst diet pepsi with no caffen did the best ps i yoused 4 mentos for each test. Now i was wondering why people think that only coke would work for this expariment so i was wondering if you would ever be interasted in doing a episod on what soda wuld react the most to the mentos. ps keep up the good work and i thank you for your time and your effort you guy spend on all your episodes and respect how thoroughly you test the myths and evan go back and reviset some that you think did not live up to the peoples standards.
I told my chemistry teacher about the smoke cupcake and he asked me about the stuff requierd to make one. I did watch the episode but I didn’t hear what the other powder was to make it, there was sugar and something else. I know you can also use potassium nitrate gind into a rough powder but I can’t get my hands on it. Also I wanted to make these “smokebombs” for my own use. It might be a bit dangerous so thats why I’m planning on making them outside.
And a question for you not to try at home. If you put une of those homemade cupcakes in a microwave, what will happen?
to kenny :
be extremely careful with smokebombs you want to make : 20 years ago, my brother lose his rignt hand with those things. He wanted to experiment alone something he was learning at school and it exploded. result : his rignt hand was exploded, my younger brother was hurted with stones which flyed, and may grandmother lose her ears…because of the “boom”. I was at 500m of the explosion and heard it !!! In the same time, others guys done the same experience : some lose their eyes, some died.
This experience MUST be done WITH A TEACHER !!!
Please, don’t try alone (or with friends) this kind of experiment !!!!
does mentos have the same reaction to pepsi as it dose to coke
I’m doing this for a science experiment at school. I was wondering what sodas and the sizes work best for this experiment
does the coke and mentos kill you after the fizz
this project is cool the next person who
No does not kill you, sorry… I used Dr. Pepper, and the little bit left in the bottle after the fizz, was a very sweet dr. pepper tast. I used a 8oz small bottle, key is being full. The less air, the more FIZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzz.
How many mentos are u spoosed to put in?????
How do you get the mentos in all at one time w/o the tube.
I nead to know by tomorrow
hi im doing soda and mentos for my science fair project at school and i wanted to let tom 88 know how to get them all in!! well u line them up in your fingers with the thumb,pointer and middle.