To get a Do Science logo product, click here. Send a t-shirt with an activity on the back (Condiment Diver activity is on back). Return to The Archive List Do you have a comment or response to this activity, submit it to the Do Science bulletin board. More science activities can be found here: Great for Science Fair projects! While You're Waiting for the Food to Come by Eric Muller, Illustrated by Eldon Doty Hardcover version Paperback version To order or find out more about this book, click on the book cover above or on either cover version. Go to the Do Science Store

Turn an open bottle upside-down for a draining experience... or maybe not. Ingredients: -Water (Do Not use a carbonated beverage like soda for this trick.) - Empty glass drink bottle (any kind will work)   - Paper napkin or any small piece of paper The Recipe: 1) After you finish emptying a glass bottle, refill it to the brim with water. Fill it so high that you get a little water bulging at the top of the bottle. 2) Tear-off or find a piece of paper that is a little bigger than the mouth of the bottle. 3) Place the paper over the mouth of the bottle. 4) Lightly tap the paper on top of the bottle to make sure it gets wet and makes a good seal with the bottle's glass lip. 5) Although this is a cool trick and may whet your appetite to learn more about air pressure, you don't want it cool, wet and on your lap. As a precaution, follow the additional, extremely important Tips below: - When you flip your bottle, do it over a bowl, plate or a pitcher  - Do not touch the paper on the lip of the bottle at anytime while it's tipped. - Do not shake the bottle while tipped. All movements should be slow and steady.  6) It is now time to turn your bottle upside-down slow and steady. If your trick works, no water will spill out. If not.....remember that part about cool and wet and on your lap. Food for Thought: The answer to how this trick works is all around you really! It's the air! Air pushes on everything you see: the floor, the walls, the ceiling and the paper on the mouth of the bottle. The pushing that air does is called air pressure. Even though gravity is yanking the water inside the bottle down, the upward push of air pressure outside the bottle is greater than the downward pressure inside the bottle. Copyright 1996 Eric Muller While You're Waiting for the Food to Come" Original copyright of While You're Waiting for the Food to Come 1995 Eric Muller