Soda + Mentos = The Soda fountain
Here’s a fun Google video of what happens when you put Mentos in soda (you might want to mute the sound). The video doesn’t explain how it works, but there’s an overview here “Mentos contain sugar, glucose syrup (more sugar), hydrogenated coconut oil, starch, gum arabic, an emulsifier and natural flavor. The gum arabic which makes Mentos chewy, cause the surface tension of the water molecules to break even more easily, releasing more carbon dioxide gas. This effect is enhanced by the fact that, as the candy dissolves, it forms nucleation sites — tiny pits on the surface of the mint where more carbon dioxide bubbles can form. When all this gas is released, it thrusts the entire contents of the bottle skyward, in an incredible soda blast.” Link to video.
In MAKE 03 we showed you how to

Chris writes “Considering how many people bought the HP Bluetooth stereo headphones and got disappointed when the headband snapped, I thought that it was time to do something useful with the ‘broken’ headphone. We’ll take you through all steps of dismantling the Bluetooth receiver and building it into a nice mouse housing with 12v in and line out. And as the device keeps its battery, you can also use this as a portable Bluetooth stereo receiver and plug in you high quality headphones or even connect it to your stereo at home.”
This might make a good low cost DIY centrifuge for here on Earth too – “For most space travelers, the first effect of weightlessness they feel is nausea. But over the next few days and weeks, the lack of gravity takes its toll on the rest of the body, leading to muscle and bone mass depletion and troubles regulating blood pressure…researchers at UC Irvine and the National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) have developed a two-person, centrifuge-like, one-stop workout machine that makes its own gravity. They call it the Space Cycle.”