Scientific pranks for April Fool’s Day
Channel: MEL Chemistry
Date: 2020-03-31

Three easy tricks for April Fool’s Day.

Equipment: cup of tea, 1 tsp sodium polyacrylate, diapers, glass container, scissors, soft drink, mint dragee (we opted for Mentos), thread, awl, water bottle, pin.

For the first experiment, take some diapers, cut them in half, and pour the contents into a glass container. The white powder you’ll find is sodium polyacrylate. It is a good adsorbent and can absorb a large quantity of water – approximately 300g of water per 1g of sodium polyacrylate! If a teaspoon of this substance is poured into a mug with a drink such as tea, it will harden almost instantaneously and result in a great surprise! *Never swallow sodium polyacrylate! 

For the second experiment, bore a hole in a mint dragee (we used Mentos) with an awl and pass a thread through it. Open a soft drink and carefully position the dragee in the neck of the bottle. Cap the bottle tightly and cut the ends of the thread. When your target opens the bottle, the mint dragee will fall into the drink – and due to the rough surface of the mint dragee, the rapid release of carbon dioxide will begin!

For the third experiment, use a needle or pin to make several holes around the base of a closed water bottle (important! The water must be non-carbonated, and the holes should all be at the same level). When the bottle is opened, the pressure above the surface of the water will be equal to atmospheric pressure, which means that the pressure difference holding the water in place will disappear. Once the surface tension is insufficient to stop the flow, water will leak from the small holes, and your “fool” will get wet!

Amazing experiments await you in the MEL Chemistry subscription!

Safety precautions: Warning! Only under adult supervision. Never swallow sodium polyacrylate!