It has inspired a new fashion of blowing flames from one's mouth using a cigarette as an ignition source. Many new karaoke videos feature singers shooting blue flames in slow motion, while flame contests took place in pubs everywhere in Tokyo on New Year's Eve. So far, Asaka beer has insisted that the quantities of hydrogen used in the drinks is too low to create potential for bodily harm. In the factory, the carbon dioxide that is dissolved in the beer is partially extracted and replaced with hydrogen gas. Mr. Saito maintained that the remaining carbon dioxide mixed with hydrogen prevents the rate of combustion from increasing dramatically.
Carbon dioxide is a nonflammable gas that is naturally contained in the exhaled breath of humans.
However, the company has hesitated from marketing the product in the US due to legal complications. The bottles are packed in special crates lined with concrete to prevent chain explosions in the event of a fire. Readers are invited to send in their favorite humorous science item. Copyright 1997, The American Physical Society. The APS encourages the redistribution of the materials included in this newsletter provided that attribution to the source is noted and the materials are not truncated or changed.