Burping is both big and clever. So, needless to say, is inhaling helium to give yourself a cartoon-character voice. Helium soda combines the two - with every belch, your voice will rise in pitch. Skilled drinkers will modulate their burps in the manner of a slide-whistle.
Any suggestions as to how one might "heliumate" a soft drink are welcome.-- friendlyfire, May 13 2003 (??) Gas Solubilities http://www.chem.uid...~honors/gassol.html [pluterday, Oct 05 2004, last modified Oct 06 2004] AO's Helium Molotovaloon http://www.halfbake...lium_20Molotovaloon [scubadooper, Oct 05 2004] Burp speech. http://www.cancer.o...my.asp?sitearea=MBCUse those burps for good, instead of badness. [bungston]Hydrogen Beer http://www.darwinaw...legends1999-11.htmla hoax from a couple years back [bungston, Oct 05 2004, last modified Oct 06 2004] Hydrogen Beer http://www.darwinaw...legends1999-11.htmla hoax from a couple years back [mandy, Oct 05 2004] (?) This just keeps getting more plausible... http://www.illmo.com/gases/helium.htmOdourless, tasteless, and non-toxic - perfect! [friendlyfire, Oct 05 2004, last modified Oct 06 2004] Um, no - belching expels gas from your stomach, bypassing your lungs. So it wouldn't work.
(Otherwise, you would heliumate a drink the same way you carbonate it, though I imagine it wouldn't dissolve so well - carbon dioxide dissolves well, forming carbonic acid.)-- DrCurry, May 13 2003 The note of a burp depends on the length of the gas column resonated and the density of the gas involved. I'm not sure, but I'd reason that changing the gas from CO2 to He, should make your burps squeaky.
Love the idea! Helliumating shouldn't be too much of a problem, it may well dissipate from the drink quicker than CO2 though.-- scubadooper, May 13 2003 helium affects the vocal chords, so, Dr. Curry, I believe you're incorrect. This would work (doesn't have to go to lungs)...-- morpheus, May 13 2003 Your voice rises because the vocal chords vibrate more quickly in helium. Since you can say words with burp air, it follows that that air is passing across the vocal chords. Hence, a burp would be higher with helium.
However, I have just realised that the effect would not be cumulative, although by exhaling at the same time as the burp, and so regulating the gaseous mix, you could modulate the pitch.-- friendlyfire, May 13 2003 would drinking this concoction put a spring in your step?-- po, May 13 2003 You can test it by gulping helium from a balloon, as you would air when making yourself burp.
Unfortunately I don't have a balloon at hand otherwise I'd set the debate to bed.-- scubadooper, May 13 2003 "helium soda" I'm thinking this had something to do with the origin of waugsqueke's name...-- k_sra, May 13 2003 <looking it up> I'm surprised! The solubility of He is not as low as I thought it was. But still -- it is 100 times less than CO2. So you're not going turn into Donald Duck drinking a helium cola... <linky>-- pluterday, May 13 2003 Um, yes, you would obviously increase the pitch of your burps. But friendlyfire specifically calls for raising the pitch of your voice, and the air in your lungs will expel any helium around your vocal chords after the first syllable or two. So my comment stands - it won't work.-- DrCurry, May 13 2003 All the helium would just rush out of the bottle when you open it, I expect.-- waugsqueke, May 13 2003 This product could be called "7Up, Up, Up"-- bristolz, May 13 2003 [waugs] That seems like the heart of the problem to me, maybe you could combine this with AO's Helium Molotovaloon so you get a free balloon with every soda and just by pass dissolving the helium.-- scubadooper, May 13 2003 Atop the bottle is a small plastic cylinder (1/2" diameter, 1" high, axis in line with bottle) that is screwed on to the bottle (with an airtight seal (who provides cheap labor (paid with fish))). When cylinder is removed, a balloon is revealed. This balloon quickly fills with helium from the light and refreshing soda contained in the bottle beneath. Balloon is removed and tied off (by operator - sorry, no mechanical arm), allowing access to the wonderful experience that is Helium soda.-- Worldgineer, May 13 2003 Hydrogen might be a good choice over helium. Perhaps you could make flaming burps. I’ve looked everywhere for solubility data on hydrogen, but couldn’t find it. I did find this nugget for those that might like to partake of Hydro-Cola whilst submerged: “At great depths, and when used with oxygen alone, hydrogen has a narcotic effect more similar to LSD.” Crazy flaming cola!-- pluterday, May 13 2003 What mad man decided to try inhaling hydrogen?-- scubadooper, May 13 2003 [scubadooper] At very great depths the O2 level of the hydrogen breathing mixture would be below the explosive limit. Just barely... But the colors!-- pluterday, May 13 2003 It occurred to me that since Jutta is knowlegable about burp speech, and about sign language poetry, that she might know something about burp speech poetry?-- bungston, May 13 2003 As an experienced homebrewer, I am aware that nitrogenating a liquid takes much more pressure than carbonating a liquid. The are glass spherical enclosures which can be purchased to aid in infusing different gasses with liquids, you may need one of these. I have not tried helium, but would asume that with the difference in nitrogen and CO2, and the weights involved, that infusing helium might not be so difficult... but what would be the effect on the cascade and taste of the beverage?-- X2Entendre, May 13 2003 I don't know about the relative solubility of hydrogen to helium, but they're both nonpolar, so it's unlikely to be any better. I remember hearing about a "Japanese craze" for hydrogen beer to assist in karaoke and risky bar stunts (see link). It was a hoax (but a fairly believeable one, given the Japanese)-- mandy, May 13 2003 I do like the idea of Crazy Flaming Cola! Can we get it to light automaticaly on opening the can, kinda like a Flaming Homer (Flaming Moe) of Simpons fame?-- scubadooper, May 14 2003 <BuUUURP>? <Beeeeeep>?-- FloridaManatee, May 14 2003 ROTFLMAO... what a great idea... i would love it. :)-- bubblegrrl79, May 14 2003 Yay! First idea I read in weeks and its a good'un. Croissant.-- sambwiches, May 14 2003 I bet you could get a fair amount of N20 (nitrous oxide) to go into solution in a drink; it is polar and fairly soluble in water. It would produce a double buzz: the fizz, then the laughing gas. Alternatively, you could take a huff before taking a sip.
I guess this is a separate idea, but it is so shamelessly derivative I will leave it here.-- bungston, May 14 2003 Laughing gas! Bungston, you're a bloomin' genius.
Is it possible to dissolve both He and N2O into the same refreshing beverage? That would be a very funny burp indeed...-- friendlyfire, May 15 2003 I once read a story about a distastrous occurence in a karaoke bar as a result of smoking in combination of hydrogen loaded beer.-- whatastrangeperson, Dec 18 2003 Man goes missing after launched to high skies, when trying "Helium Soda" - a newly baked invention from HalfBakerBakers Inc. a company that realizes internet half baked inventions.-- pashute, Aug 08 2010 // Man goes missing //
Look on the bright side, we finally found a use for [beanangel] ...-- 8th of 7, Aug 08 2010 random, halfbakery