“Homemade Glow Bottle”

How many have you have seen this project online?

Well, I started out with just the materials in the list above that are in italics, just like it shows in the picture above.  I’ve heard that this is able to be done, and that it’s so easy!!  I’ve also heard rumors online that this recipe is a fake.  There’s even a Snopes post even verifying it being false.  Everyone says that the YouTube videos have been doctored, and all that they do is switch bottles with the following ingredients in the list above.  Well, I decided to try it out myself.  Little bit of Mythbusters in me, I guess!!  Here’s what I got with the first recipe:

Wow!! Now that’s bright, huh??  NOT!!!  I guess the guys at Snopes were finally right about something!  So, now making a few changes with the above, I’ll walk you through a new way with a different recipe I found online.

Start by drinking most of the soda (turns out that it doesn’t even need to be Mountain Dew).  I can’t stand this stuff, so I called in my Scientific Assistant (thanks Dylan!!)

Next, when you have just about 1/4 cup of soda left in the bottle, add about 1 teaspoon of baking soda.

Then add about 1 tablespoon (or 3 capfuls) of the peroxide, and a squirt of dish soap into the bottle.

After that, I used one of the long necklace style glow sticks and cut off the tip with scissors (be sure you do this either over the trash, or a sink).  Let the liquid drip into the bottle.  You might have to break it up and get the pieces of glass out, as well, so make sure this is ONLY DONE BY ADULTS!!  Once you have that all combined, hand it over to your Scientific Assistant to shake up really well.

Now you can take it to a dark place and see how well it glows – it doesn’t last very long, but my son loved how bright it was when he was done shaking it around.

Notes (from About.Com):  There’s nothing special about Mountain Dew. In fact, you don’t even need soda, you can just use a bit of water.  You really don’t even need the peroxide or baking soda either. The project works if you add a little detergent and the contents of a broken glowstick to any near-empty 20-oz bottle. (However, if you do add the peroxide and baking soda, you get an immediate bright glow. Enjoy the glow while you can because the chemiluminescence reaction proceeds rapidly. If you use peroxide you will notice the light starting to fade within about half a minute.)

 Please take a minute to leave me a comment and let me know what you would do different, or what you would add, etc.  Be sure to tweet, pin, share, etc. – thanks!!

All pictures and text are my own and have not been copied in any way.  I, Jamie Tomkins, own and operate Tiger Strypes Blog located at www.TigerStrypes.com. From time to time you’ll hear about my real life experiences or creations with products and/or services from companies and individuals. Let it be known that I have no affiliation with these said companies, and have not received compensation for reviewing or using their service/product. The information that I give regarding the product/service is based off my own personal experience, I do not guarantee that your experience will be the same.

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