JEDDAH, 29 April 2007 — The fad among many Saudi youth these days has nothing to do with the newest video games or the latest electronic gadget, but instead involves the mixing of Mentos mint candies, diet coke and the creation of a “Mentos Eruption” that has been gaining popularity throughout the Kingdom as a common after-school pastime.
“I first learned about the Mentos and coke experiment at school when I overheard some kids talking about making an explosion,” said Rayan Zuhair, 12, a Saudi pupil at a private school for boys in Jeddah.
“It sounded like fun so I asked how it was done. Then one of the kids invited me to an empty parking lot after school where he told me to see for myself. There were about seven to eight guys in the group all with one liter bottles of coke ready to drop Mentos into them and then competing for the title of who could create the tallest Mentos fountain,” he added.
The “Mentos Eruption,” which was first seen on American TV and performed as an experiment by Steve Spangler, the “Science Guy,” has become the topic of numerous Internet videos, late night American talk shows and youth-targeted blogs worldwide.
So far Spangler is holding the record for creating the tallest Mentos fountain measuring some 34 feet or 10.4 meters high.
The experiment is not the only thing that has been getting attention around the globe. Currently an urban legend alleging the deaths of two Brazilian boys, whose stomachs were said to have exploded after consuming the mixture, has also been the subject of e-mails warning against ingesting the mix of Mentos and diet coke.
However, scientists believe that it is a physical reaction instead of a chemical one that is responsible for the eruption. Scientists think that water molecules in the diet coke link together to form a tight mesh around each bubble of carbon dioxide in the soft drink and it is the bubbles that release gas and pressure inside the bottle.
In order for new bubbles to form water molecules must push away from each other while also needing extra energy to break the surface tension. When Mentos candies are added to the equation the gelatin and gum Arabic in the candy dissolves providing the energy that snaps the surface tension. The sudden increase in pressure pushes the liquid up and out of the bottle creating the famous Mentos fountain.
But are Mentos and coke fountains all just fun and games? Many think so. However, some worried parents are alarmed that there could be a hazard in allowing their kids to toy with science.
“The other day I saw my 10- and 12-year-old boys playing in the yard when suddenly we saw something shoot past our window. In fact, it was a two-liter bottle of diet coke that had taken flight. The bottle had been turned into a rocket that could have caused a number of injuries - either from breaking a window or just hitting a bystander,” said Atif Justania, a concerned Saudi father.
It is because of these types of dangers that many have begun to wonder why the companies that produce Mentos and diet coke are so reluctant in promoting these types of experiments.
Is it all really to promote fun or is there another incentive? According to Pete Healy, vice president of the US division of Italian’s Perfetti Van Melle, makers of Mentos candies, the hype created by amateur videos posted on the Internet has produced a geyser of free publicity valued at $10 million above the $20 million already spent annually on advertising by the company. “We are tickled pink by it (the publicity),” said Healy speaking to the Wall Street Journal.
Spokeswomen for Coca-Cola’s US Division, Susan McDermott in the same article in the Wall Street Journal contributed the excitement to purely being an “entertaining phenomenon.” “We would hope people want to drink (diet coke) more than try experiments with,” McDermott said. She concluded by adding that the “craziness with Mentos doesn’t fit with the brand personality of diet coke.”
