Ep 13. Diet Coke and Mentos

In season four, episode thirteen of Mythbusters, the team sets out to tackle a viral video phenomenon that has taken the internet by storm: the Diet Coke and Mentos explosion. For years, people have been posting videos of themselves dropping Mentos candy into a bottle of Diet Coke, causing a massive eruption of bubbles and soda. The Mythbusters team decides to put this viral trick to the test to see if it's real or fake.

The episode begins with a visit to EepyBird, the duo who first created the Diet Coke and Mentos experiment and became internet celebrities as a result. Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage talk to the duo about their experiment and try out a few versions of the trick themselves. They discover that the key to a successful explosion is in the Mentos candy itself; the tiny pits on the surface of a Mentos candy create thousands of nucleation sites, which release the carbon dioxide in the Diet Coke all at once.

However, the team is not convinced that the Diet Coke and Mentos trick would work on a larger scale, such as dropping Mentos into a gallon of soda. To test this, they first create a fountain of Diet Coke and Mentos by dropping over 500 Mentos into a two-liter bottle of soda. The result is a massive eruption of soda that reaches over 10 feet high!

Next, the team tries to scale up the experiment even further by dropping 200 pounds of Mentos into a 1,500-gallon tank of soda. They build a custom rig that would allow them to drop the Mentos into the soda tank all at once. However, they soon realize that the rig is not strong enough to hold the weight of the Mentos, and the experiment ends in a failure. The tank is only partially filled with soda and the Mentos cause only a small explosion.

Undeterred, the team decides to try another version of the Diet Coke and Mentos trick by dropping Mentos into a giant balloon filled with Diet Coke. The balloon is nine feet high and contains over 300 gallons of Diet Coke. The team pumps the Mentos into the balloon and waits for the explosion. The result is a massive eruption of soda that covers the Mythbusters team in sticky, sugary soda from head to toe!

Finally, the team tries to replicate a popular viral video that shows a man launching himself into the air using the power of a Diet Coke and Mentos explosion. The Mythbusters team builds a special suit for Adam Savage that would allow him to withstand the blast of a Diet Coke and Mentos eruption. They also build a giant cannon that would launch Adam into the air when the soda explodes.

However, things don't go according to plan. The first test results in Adam being launched only a few inches off the ground, while the second test sends him flying uncontrollably and crashing into a nearby car. The experiment ends in a hilarious fail as everyone laughs at the ridiculousness of the situation.

In the end, the Mythbusters team concludes that the Diet Coke and Mentos trick is very real and can be successfully replicated on a larger scale. However, they caution against attempting any of the stunts they performed in the episode, as they are extremely dangerous and could result in serious injury or damage to property. Overall, the episode is a fun, lighthearted exploration of a viral internet trend and the science behind it.