A Biz Built On Mentos
Stephen Voltz and Fritz Grobe were a soggy, grinning mess. Wearing lab coats, safety goggles and clip-on ties, they stood in a downpour before thousands of cheering fans. It wasn’t rain that drenched them but 55 gallons of Diet Coke.
For years, science geeks have known what happens when you drop a Mentos mint into a Diet Coke bottle. Tiny craters on the mint attract carbon dioxide, creating tremendous pressure. (Diet Coke contains more CO2 than most sodas.)
Voltz, 51, a former trial attorney, and Grobe, 40, a professional juggler, decided to see how far they could push the phenomenon. In 2006 they created Internet videos choreographing hundreds of what they call “mint-powered Bellagio fountains.”
Their Web site, EepyBird.com, now draws 3 million hits a month. It features further experiments with cascading sticky notes, as well as ads and sponsorship from corporate giants such as OfficeMax and – naturally – Coca-Cola. The pair won’t say how much they’re making, but they manage to support themselves, pay two part-timers and take time out to refine their spectacle at every Maker Faire.
Photo by EepyBird.
Jaclyn on February 16th, 2009 11:32 am
That was a good and odd at the same time read. to think that you can take something as simple as mentos and sticky notes and it will generate over 3 million hits to a web site just so people can see what happens when you do certain thing’s to sticky notes or mento’s, etc. i mean, yeah there are some thing’s that i sit back and go “i wonder what would happen” or ” i wonder if that is true”…but i wouldn’t go out and pour a bunch of coca cola over the city to find out if it was true or not.
Rich on February 16th, 2009 12:03 pm
But Jacklyn, that’s how things get invented and new businesses get started.
The inventor/entrepreneur wonders “what it?”
Jaclyn on February 16th, 2009 12:38 pm
Oh i know, i definitely realize it. it just goes along with a post that i wrote not too long ago…some are innovator’s and other’s are not…i definitely know that i would not be…i was just commenting on how i would wonder why but never test the theory where as someone else such as those two gentlemen would…which is a good thing otherwise like you said…there would be no new invention’s. but somtime’s i do believe that it still goes a little too far. like these tv show’s that do the myth buster’s, where they test all kind’s of scenes from movies and theories just to prove if a car really would blow up that way or if a building really would collapse in a certain way…those i feel are just “show off” presentation’s and really serve no purpose other then it takes up another hour and channel on tv.
cassy on February 16th, 2009 8:19 pm
thats a very interesting site to visit,talking about amny thing and also mentos drop on a cola,sound interesting! i saw it on tv what happen if you put mentos on a can of diet coke,it blows up and look like a fountain that is why is dangerous,that makes me interest to read about this post!
Tom on February 17th, 2009 2:15 am
Original idea for a business.They have found their niche.
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