The eggsperiment
posted in Food, OmegaDad, OmegaDotter, Science |While getting ideas for science projects, I chanced upon a mention somewhere on the Intertubes of using [some item] to dissolve an eggshell while leaving the remainder of the egg intact. I mentioned this in passing to OmegaDad, with [some item] replaced by “baking soda”. He scoffed at the baking soda, but thought vinegar might do. He thought it was a really nifty idea.
He and the dotter set up two mason jars on the kitchen counter, one filled with vinegar, the other with Dr Pepper (there is no period after the “r”), thinking that soda pop might be just as acidic, and dumped two uncooked eggs, shells intact, into the jars.
This evening, I was called into the kitchen by a very excited dotter. “Omigosh, you have to see it! Come see the egg, mommy! It’s all squishy!” So I wandered into the kitchen and found OmegaDad rinsing the remainder of the shell off the egg that had sat in the vinegar…and then we played with it. It was very pearlescent, not as fragile as I thought it might be, and very cool.
Here’s OmegaDad squeezing the egg:
Then we grabbed my itty bitty book light (not the type of trademark fame, but even itty-bittier), turned it on, placed it next to the egg membrane, and turned off the kitchen light:
Does that, or does that not, seem like something that belongs in a fantasy novel?! “G’kark held the glowing orb in his hands with breathless awe, waiting for the Gzrk to respond to his silent call…”
OmegaDad and OmegaDotter took turns bouncing it:
Then we poked a hole in it, which was like poking a hole in a water balloon. I have it up on YouTube, but YouTube keeps telling me it’s still being processed. Harrumph. I will try again in a few hours, and edit this post then.
The whole family is entranced; it is so very interesting. The dotter is going to check out water (our control), vinegar, Dr Pepper, Pepsi, Coca Cola, and orange juice. The write-ups all say cola drinks should do it; however, the Dr Pepper we tried doesn’t seem to have done anything.
