"rocket" news and stories

Combining Mentos and Coca-Cola can lead to a fountain effect of soda pop, but do you know why it happens?

Last year, New Scientist published this video on the whys behind Mentos and Coke explosions. Turns out that mint Mentos just have the right surface area to do the carbonated experiment.

The party trick of sorts is so popular, companies like EepyBird.com sell Mentos and Coke kits to make your own eruptions. Diet Coke works best.

Spinach salads are out for the moment, unless you feel like taking chances that even restaurants aren't willing to. Supermarkets are reporting a big drop in salad sales, but there is no reason to cut all greens out of your diet along with spinach. Now is the perfect time to experiment with some non-spinach salad greens. Some alternatives include:

• Mâche - delicate, sweet and slightly nutty. It resembles a cross between young spinach and a tender lettuce.
• Arugula - peppery and sharp. This green makes a great background for salads with sweet fruits or mild nuts in them
• Chard - tender and sweet when cooked. Chard is a great alternative for spinach in cooked dishes (unless you opt for frozen spinach, which the USDA says is still safe to eat at the moment).
• Dandelion Greens - sharper and more bitter than arugula. These are best when mixed with other greens, but choose smaller, more delicate leaves for salads

Romaine and iceberg lettuces can always stand in for other greens in salads, too, and can be a nice base for a salad when experimenting with other greens, particularly bitter greens.