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This week's LabZone activity
June 2, 2004
Stink Bomb
Turn an ordinary balloon into a secret source of stink.
Where: a yard or someone else's house.
Special Conditions: none.
What to Do
Don't do this inside your own home because it creates a big stink. It belongs outside or at someone else's party. Stink bombs can be made in the stench of your choice. Our favorite offensive odor is garlic.
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| Bill Tarpenning, U.S. Department of Agriculture |
Crush a clove of garlic and roll a cotton swab in the juice. Rub the swab on the inside of a balloon. Don't rub it too close to the opening of the balloon, though. Remember, you have to blow up the balloon.
After you inflate the secret stinker, tie it off and put a string on it. Add your balloon to the party decorations. Soon you will have a room full of partygoers holding their noses from the smell of garlic and going crazy wondering where it is coming from.
Insider Information
Believe it or not, a balloon is full of tiny holes called pores. The pores are smaller than air molecules but larger than those mighty, little garlic molecules. The garlic molecules seep through the balloon in a process called osmosis—the movement of molecules through a membrane. Then they spread rapidly through the air in another process called diffusion. Heat speeds up both processes—put the balloon near a light bulb and gross everyone out more quickly.
If you are a nice person, you can use this technique to create an air freshener. Rub a pleasant scent such as vanilla extract or perfume inside the balloon instead. However, our taste runs more to garlic.
Reprinted with permission from Don't Try This at Home! Science Fun for Kids on the Go by Vicki Cobb and Kathy Darling. Text © 1998 by Vicki Cobb (www.vickicobb.com) and Kathy Darling. Published by HarperTrophy.
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