Coke Geyser - Part 3

Coke geyser - Part 2

Continued...

A 2006 episode of the television show MythBusters[2] concluded that the caffeine, potassium benzoate, aspartame, and CO2 gas contained in the Diet Coke, in combination with the gelatin and gum arabic ingredients of the Mentos, all contribute to the jet effect.[3] In addition, MythBusters theorized that the physical structure of the Mentos is the most significant cause of the eruption due to nucleation. MythBusters reported that when flavored Mentos with a smooth waxy coating were tested in carbonated drink there was hardly a reaction, whereas standard Mentos added to carbonated drink formed an energetic eruption, affirming the nucleation-site theory. According to MythBusters, the surface of the mint Mentos is littered with many small holes, allowing CO2 bubbles to form very rapidly and in great quantity, in turn causing the jet of foam. This was further supported when rock salt was used as a "jump start" to the reaction

A paper by Tonya Coffey, a physicist at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina goes into detail on the reasons and physics behind the reaction.

Coke Geyser - Part 1

A Diet Coke and Mentos eruption (also known as a Mentos eruption or a Coke geyser) is a reaction of Diet Coke and mint Mentos candies. A two-liter bottle of Diet Coke or some other carbonated beverage is used. Diet Coke is preferred because it produces a more spectacular reaction. The bigger the bottle of cola, the bigger the eruption.

Dropping some Mentos into the bottle causes the Diet Coke to foam at a rapid rate and spew into the air. Mint-flavored Mentos are used, as cola-flavored Mentos have a smooth coating that slows the reaction. Because of the spectacular nature of this physical reaction and the easy availability of the ingredients, the eruption is a popular subject of Webcast videos. A variation on the Coke geyser is the bottle rocket. The Mentos are inserted into the bottle, after which the cap is immediately replaced and the bottle slammed onto the ground cap-first. The resulting explosion generates a rocket-like reaction.

A Guinness World Record of 1,911 simultaneous geysers was set on June 19, 2008, by students of the School of Business Administration Turiba in Latvia.[1] The record was beaten in August 2010 in Mexico City, with 2,433 simultaneous eruptions.

McDonald's Story - Part 2

Continued...

The first shop opened in 1955 in Chicago as the organization became the McDonald's Corporation. Six years later Ray bought out the founding brothers. By 1965 there were more than 700 sites in existence across the United States.

It wasn't long before McDonald's also caught on in several other countries. By 2003, the corporation held over 31,000 sites in 119 countries. Forty seven million people were being served every day and sales were at a hefty $17 billion.

Although Kroc did not create the concept of the chain restaurant, he saw a niche and developed the plan to transform burgers, fries and shakes into a huge empire. Kroc was a stickler for consistency and cleanliness in all of his establishments. In addition, he did everything he could to keep costs down so that even low income people could afford a meal out at McDonald's.

Kroc also had the insight to standardize cooking and serving procedures so that all processes were efficient and easily learned even by new employees. As teen employees came and went, this was important to the operation, so that customers would continue to receive the food they expected in a timely manner.

Kroc established a welcoming franchisee arrangement so that he could increase his presence. He used the method of charging a 1.9 percent commission on franchisee's sales rather than charging a large start up fee.

As McDonald's became the biggest restaurant company in the world, savvy salesman Kroc continued to live by his motto of providing customers what they wanted. Kroc was chairman of McDonald's Corporation, from 1968 until he passed away in 1984.

McDonald's history - Part 1

In 1954, at the age of 52, Ray Kroc began a new age in franchising when he became the national agent for McDonald's.

Kroc, making his rounds as a milk shake mixer salesman, came across the McDonald brothers' (Richard and Maurice) small hamburger shop in Southern California. The establishment was simple, serving only a few items: hamburgers, french fries, soft drinks, and milk shakes. These two brothers became one of Kroc's best customers as they purchased several of his machines in his otherwise dying business.

Kroc, curious about why the McDonalds were purchasing so many mixers, investigated the establishment further. With his keen sense of what American consumers were looking for in eating out, Kroc suggested that the brothers expand their presence. As they asked how they could do so, he offered his services as their agent. That is how the little restaurants with the bright yellow arches began.

KFC Story - Part 2

Continued...

Over the next several years, Harland Sanders worked at a variety of jobs. He started out as a farm hand, then moved on to be a streetcar conductor while he was still just a teenager. From there he was a fireman on the railroad and finally ended up running a service station. Once again, he used his cooking skills that were learned from his mother to provide meals for travelers who stopped at his service station. As his cooking became more famous, and his food business grew, he moved into an actual restaurant nearby. His specialty was, of course, fried chicken which was seasoned with his original blend of eleven herbs and spices.

A few years later, in the year of 1935, when Sanders was forty-five years old, then Governor Ruby Laffoon made him a Kentucky Colonel because of his delectable cooking skills.

Progress is not always for the good of everyone, and in the 1950's, Colonel Harland Sanders got the news of the plans for a new highway which was going to be constructed. The highway could divert the majority of the traffic away from the town and, with the beginning of the highway, Colonel Sanders saw his successful business coming to an end. He closed the restaurant and retired to a social security check of one hundred and five dollars a month. When he received his first month's pension, he decided that he wasn't going to sit in a rocking chair and wait for the government checks. So, he convinced others to invest in his delicious fried chicken recipe, and Kentucky Fried Chicken was born.

Colonel Harland Sanders finally retired from the business when he was eighty years old, and stricken with illness.

KFC Story - Part 1

Colonel Harland Sanders has become a world-known figure by marketing his "finger lickin' good" Kentucky Fried Chicken. His chicken is now served daily across the United States as well as in more than eighty other countries. It is one of the largest fast food corporations in the world.

The spectacled Colonel Sanders could easily be identified by his clean, crsip white suite, black string tie, and walking cane. A statue of this man can be seen as far away as on Nathan Road in Kowloon, Hong Kong, for one place.

What makes Colonel Sanders' story so amazing, you might ask. One of the most amazing aspects of his life is the fact that when he reached the age of sixty-five years old, after running a restaurant for several years, Harland Sanders found himself penniless. He retired and received his first social security check which was for one hundred and five dollars. And that was just the beginning of his international fame and financial success story...

Harland Sanders was born in the month of September in the year of 1890. He was the oldest child in a family of five. His father toiled in the coal mines of Kentucky until his death, which came at a young age. Sanders had just reached the tender age of six years old when he had to take care of his younger brother and sister. With his father gone, that left the responsibilities of working and supporting the family up to his mother. She began working in a shirt factory. Harland tended to things at home and learned to cook the meals by his mother's teachings. She taught him how to cook many foods, including fried chicken.