Dead Man's Hand

soak an egg in white vinegar for a day and see what happens. It'll freak 'em out.

Cool, what does it do?

soak an egg in white vinegar for a day and see what happens. It'll freak 'em out.

I've done that...it's fun. I also did that with a cherry tomato as well because I was an inquisitive child.

Cool, what does it do?

It dissolves the calcium right off the shell and leaves the membrane intact...so it becomes rubbery. It's still pretty fragile, so don't try bouncing it or anything.

I dug up the chemical reaction that explains it...why? Because I'm a nerd.

2 CH3CO2H + CaCO3 ---> H2O (l) + CO2 (g) + Ca(CH3COO)2(aq) The acetic acid in vinegar reacts with the calcium carbonate in the eggshell and produces liquid water, gaseous carbon dioxide, and calcium acetate which is in aqueous solution(i.e. dissolved) and one very strange looking egg.

~Zoo

and when your finished, quickly pour the white vinegar into a glass with a couple of tablespoons of baking soda in it...   

Heh, you got me started...

on a rainy day when they can't go outside, get 'em to take turns being blindfolded and walk around the house. I know this cool trick with matches and toothpicks too but...well better not do that one.  

and when your finished, quickly pour the white vinegar into a glass with a couple of tablespoons of baking soda in it...

That follows the same reaction that I have above...except baking soda is NaHCO3, sodium bicarbonate and the higher concentrations make it much more vigourous. If you have a container with a small enough opening you can stretch a balloon over the vinegar/baking soda mix really fast and capture the CO2 that's produced. Depending on how much stuff you're using it could make it pop or fly off, fun either way.

I know this cool trick with matches and toothpicks too but

Know the little riddle about taking 9 toothpicks and making "ten" from them? Pull out 9 toothpicks and see if your kids can make 10 without breaking any of them...when/if they give up take the toothpicks and spell out the word, "TEN" with them...2 for the T, 4 for the E, and 3 for the N.

~Zoo

Sorry about all the chemistry stuff...I'm just trying to get into the mindset for my final tomorrow.

~Zoo

Ooo! You should also do the egg suck. You take a boiled/peeled egg and a glass bottle. The bottle top needs to be just slightly smaller than the egg. (make sure the bottle is dry) Show the kids that egg won't fit into the bottle. Then, light two matches and let them burn a little bit. Put the matches (still lit) in the bottle, and immediately put the egg over the whole. The egg will get sucked into the bottle.

Or there's always slime:

Easy Slime Recipe 1

2 Cups Water
1/2 Cup Cornstarch
Food Coloring

Bring water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add cornstarch, then food coloring while stirring constantly. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. This makes a messy slime that goes from liquid to solid, and is great fun to play with.

Easy Slime Recipe 2

1/4 cup White Glue
1 1/4 cup Water, divided
1 tbsp. Borax - found in the laundry detergent aisle of your grocery store
Food Coloring

Borax is available in the laundry section of your local grocery store. Add 1 tbsp. Borax to one cup of warm water. Stir until completely dissolved.

Make a 50% water 50% white glue solution by taking 1/4 cup of each and mix thoroughly.

In a ziploc bag, add equal parts of the borax solution to equal parts of the glue solution. (Half cup of each will make a cup of slime.)

Add a couple drops of food coloring. Seal bag and knead the mixture.

If slime is too sticky, add a little more borax. If slime is too slippery, add a little more white glue solution.

Variations:

Less rubbery and more transparent slime: Try a 4% solution of polyvinyl alcohol instead of the glue mixture

Different Consistencies: Add shaving cream or baby powder to the mixture.

Glow in the Dark Slime: Add several drops of glow-in-the-dark paint during mixing.

Silly Putty Recipe


1 tbsp. White Glue
½ tsp. Epsom Salts
½ tsp. Water

In small cup, put ½ tsp. Epsom salts and ½ tsp water. Stir till salt is all or mostly dissolved. Add one tbsp. Glue to another small cup. Add Epsom salt water to the glue and stir. When putty has formed, experiment with it on waxed paper. Store in Ziploc bag.

General Slime Handling Information

* Store in a ziploc bag in the refrigerator for maximum life.
* A few drops of Lysol can be added to the Slime to minimize formation of mould and extend the lifetime of the Slime.
* Wash hands before using slime to minimize mould growth as well.
* Keep off carpets and furniture as it can stain.
* Borax is toxic in large doses, so keep out of reach of children under 3.


Oh, and I think the hand looks cool and gross -- perfect for young boys!

Oh, and Zoo, you're crazy. Just thought you should know.

Shovel: I love it. You have some great ideas! We will definitely do the egg, the baking soda (familiar with that one) and the blindfold game. Awesome!

Zoo: Smarty pants. Hehe. I'll bet your parents are very proud of how enthusiastic you are about your schooling/career field.

Nice idea about the toothpicks. Xavier will like that one.

I've heard of that, but what I'm thinking of involves fxing the toothpicks just so in a kind of a tension and lighting one off and when the flame burs down...WOOF! the whole thing flies apart and burning toothpicks go everywhere. Like I said, it might not be a good idea to show 'em THAT one, lol. But hey! I'm the guy who used to have roman candle fights with his friends too. (and those little balls of burning magnesium HURT when they hit you!   )

SHE: You guys are so fun!

Thanks for the recipes. The boys will be psyched. I didn't know you could make your own silly putty!

And the egg trick will blow their freakin' minds!

Shovel: Yeah, burning flying toothpicks would probably get me in trouble with their daddy. Haha.

I hear ya on the Roman candles. Drive around town shooting each other with the Roman candles out of the car windows. Haha.

if you had a couple of those, you could scatter em around the room and wait for someone to ask...thus providing you with an opportunity to splain bout how you invited some lepers from molokai for a card game that came to a bad end when they hadda throw their hands in.

You bet your ass I am. It's a lot more interesting than being completely sane, I'll tell ya.



Umm...yeah, especially when I try to talk about it with them and I'm met with blank stares.   



They should...they're around 4000°F.

~Zoo

Tex, my thought...I'd FREEZE the hand...then you could just split the glove and peel it off. Might make good snacks for a Halloween party!

You know, I've never really understood what betting my ass means. If I lose the bet, what happens to my ass?



That, I know. (Try telling people you believe in dragons and see what they say)

If I lose the bet, what happens to my ass?

I suppose it becomes forfeit and thus my property....so perhaps it's not the best idea to take such a bet...you could lose your ass.

~Zoo

back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, remco toys produced and sold a selection of modular 'science kits' packaged in cardboard cylindrical containers very similar in size to those commonly filled with quaker oats.

somehow i managed to acquire the one with which a kid could build a genuine working rocket. it consisted of the aforementioned rocket which--according to the instructions--was intended to be partially filled with vinegar (like up to the line) and a base/launch pad designed to accept a measured amount of baking soda.

there was also a rubber o-ring which hadda be installed for proper sealing. the base hadda lever-type trigger. according to procedure, after mating the rocket to the base, one was to shake the assembly once or twice and then place it in an open outdoor area, countdown from 10, press the trigger upon reaching 0 and then marvel as it blasted off into the 2-story-or-thereabouts-osphere.

as with all good things, the magic began to fade after a series of successful launches and that's when the real science began.

over the course of about an hour, we began increasing the amounts of fuel, countdown time and, having filled our notebooks with observed data, more fuel and longer countdowns combined.

as i sink further into the rapidly expanding morass that was once my memory, i'm no longer able to remember exactly how much more baking soda, vinegar and reaction time it took but i still vividly recall the historic moment when my associates and i invented the ied.

  

~Zoo

kingbee: LOL. Maybe I should pour jello into some boots, too.

Gid: Great idea with the freezing. I think that's what I'll do next time.

kingbee: I agree with zoo. I can almost picture it.

*groan*

Tex--as always, I'm impressed!

Shades: Thanks! I'd be more impressed if it even remotely resembled a hand! Haha.