2006 / Video / Creator-led practical-effects spectacle
Diet Coke + Mentos
One hundred and one bottles, five hundred Mentos, and a backyard fountain that made the web want to try science at maximum volume.
The original is off-site. HAHrchives preserves the story and a route back to it.
What happened
In lab coats and goggles, the pair set off a cascading field of Diet Coke geysers with carefully timed Mentos drops. It was homemade spectacle with the precision of a miniature Bellagio show and the payoff of a very fizzy magic trick.
Where it came from
Maine creators Fritz Grobe and Stephen Voltz, working as EepyBird, spent six months developing a choreographed fountain experiment. They filmed Experiment #137 in one take and published it on EepyBird.com on June 3, 2006.
Why it mattered
EepyBird showed that a small, creator-owned experiment could become huge without pretending to be an ad or a television show. It is a pure early-web delight: practical effort, visible wonder, and exactly the kind of thing you had to send to someone.
How it spread
The official post drew thousands of viewers within hours; television invitations and NPR followed that first week. Its simple, repeatable premise set off a worldwide wave of soda-and-candy experiments and early viral-video remakes.
Keep going
The same corner of the internet
A six-minute routine became one of YouTube’s first enormous stars.
Cupcakes, Narnia, Google Maps, and the point where a TV sketch became a link everyone had to send.
Darth Vader’s less imposing younger brother runs the day shift at a grocery store.
Set fire to your hair. Poke a stick at a grizzly bear. Then, somehow, remember to be safe around trains.