The World's First Ever Actual Pool of Jello: A Journey of Engineering and Chemistry
As we embarked on this ambitious project, we knew that it wouldn't be easy. The idea of creating a pool of Jello had been on my bucket list for over four years, but I never thought it would take six months to make it happen. The challenge was not just about boiling water and mixing in the powder, but also about scaling up the process to create an entire pool.
To tackle this engineering challenge, my brother and I came up with a plan last year at Thanksgiving. We decided to use six 55-gallon drums with a custom propane burner underneath and a spigot welded to the sides. This setup would allow us to heat the Jello mixture to the ideal firmness temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit. However, we soon realized that refrigeration was the next hurdle. We needed to find a way to cool down the pool without freezing it.
We teamed up with Mother Nature and picked the perfect location and time of year for our experiment. We installed a thermometer in my brother's backyard every night from January onwards, tracking the temperature. We discovered that nighttime temperatures were crucial in setting the firmness of the Jello. With this new information, we knew we had a three-week sweet spot window to pull off the project.
The goal was to have a Jello pool party in his backyard that would make even Phineas and Ferb proud. We wanted to see if it was possible to belly flop on a smooth pool of actual Jello. To achieve this, we spent a solid week of backbreaking effort planning and preparing for the experiment. Word had spread around the neighborhood as to what we were up to, and my brother asked if some of their friends' kids could have first dibs.
The day of the experiment finally arrived, and we woke up with a forecast for a warm sunny day. We pulled off the tarps and found a pool filled with actual freaking Jello! The excitement was palpable as I took my first step into the pool, feeling the slimy and slippery surface beneath me. It was like swimming in snot, but in a good way. To keep it solid for even longer, we might consider putting in a heat exchanger pipe system beneath the surface.
The Experience of Belly Flopping on Jello
As I waded into the pool, I couldn't help but feel a sense of surrealism. The water was like nothing I had ever experienced before. It filled my nose and ears, making it hard to move. But at the same time, it felt really cool. We have some pool toys hidden underneath, waiting to be discovered. To keep it solid for even longer, we might consider adding a little sugar or using a heat exchanger pipe system.
The Jello Pool: A Surprising Sensory Experience
When I first got in myself, it was closer to the middle of the day, and one of the things we discovered was that direct sunlight had the effect of undoing some of the solidness of the lower layers. The sun's rays seemed to break down the firmness of the Jello over time, making it softer and more slippery. However, when I went in later in the day, it just filled my nose and ears, making it hard to move. It was like swimming in snot, but in a good way.
The Pool of Jello: A Game Changer for Fun and Recreation
To keep it solid for even longer, we might consider using a little sugar or adding a heat exchanger pipe system beneath the surface. The possibilities are endless, and we're excited to explore them further. As I looked around at the pool filled with actual freaking Jello, I couldn't help but wonder why anyone would spend six months of planning and effort just to make a stupid pool of Jello.
Answering the Question: Why Make a Pool of Jello?
To that I say, "Why not?" Creating a pool of Jello was an experiment in itself, and we're proud of what we achieved. It's not just about making something weird and unusual; it's about pushing boundaries and exploring new possibilities. Who knows what other creative projects we'll come up with next? The world is full of endless possibilities, and we're excited to see where our curiosity takes us.
In conclusion, creating a pool of Jello was an incredible journey that taught us so much about engineering, chemistry, and the importance of perseverance. We learned that with determination and creativity, even the most impossible ideas can become reality. And who knows? Maybe one day, we'll be back to make another experiment, pushing the boundaries of what's possible and exploring new frontiers in fun and recreation.
"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en- This is the world's firstever actual pool of Jello.(upbeat music)And while it may look simple,it's actually a very difficultengineering challengeto pull off.As proof, if you google Jello pool,you'll either find bad CGIor a handful of videos ofpeople who tried to do this,but it really didn't work out.So today, we're gonna answer possiblythe longest standingquestion from my childhood.What would it be liketo actually belly flopin a pool of Jello?But before we do that, I want to talkabout what we actually had(tape screeches)to go through for the pastsix months to pull this off.The idea of a Jello pool has beenon my bucket list(mellow music)for over four years.In fact, when Kevin fromthe Backyard Scientistand I made the 25 million Orbeez pool,our first idea was to do a pool of Jello.But it's really hard becauseif you've ever made Jello,you might recall, youfirst have to boil water,then mix in the powder, andthen you have to refrigerate itfor it to actually get firm.And that's easy enoughto do for a small dish,but how do you boil and thenrefrigerate an entire pool?This seemed like a veryworthy engineering challenge.So last year at Thanksgiving,my brother and I came up with a plan,and then in the middle of winter,we started digging a hole in his backyard.Then over the course of two months,we set up a bunch ofsmall-scale experimentsbecause we needed toanswer questions like:How much gelatin powderdoes it actually taketo get to the ideal firmness?And how hotand then cold, does themixture actually need to getfor the Jello chemicalreaction to take placeso it will actually get firm?And from our experiments we learnedthe Jello always got firm as longas the mixture got hotterthan 160 degrees Fahrenheit.So we decided we could scale this upby using six 55 gallon drumswith a custom propane burner underneathand a spigot we welded to thesides, but more on that later.So now we knew how wewere going to heat it up,but how do you refrigerate an entire pool?For that, we teamed up with Mother Natureand just picked the perfectlocation and time of year.We installed a thermometerand starting in January,we tracked the temperaturein his backyard every night.(chalk scratching)We needed refrigerator temperaturesat night(bell dings)but not freezer temperatures,(computer buzzes)because that would freeze the Jello,and our experiments showedthat totally ruins it.And so after looking at our dataplus historical temperature plots,we knew we had about athree week sweet spot windowtowards the end of April to pull this off.Our goal was to have a Jello pool partyin his backyard that would makeeven Phineas and Ferb jealous.(kids laughing)So the plan was to start seven daysbefore the party(mellow music)and fill the pool with anaverage of 10 barrels every day.That would give each layera chance to get exposedto the cold night airto more efficiently get rid of the heat.And so with that, thefirst thing Saturday,a full week before the party,we got to work.(water splashing)(upbeat music)We didn't want to waste actual food,so this is just water and gelatin powderand food coloring, but there's no sugar.We intentionally placedour barrels much higherthan the pool so when we were ready,we could use the potentialenergy to move the Jellofrom the barrels to the pool.(Jello sloshing)We had to tackle abouta thousand other issuesthat came up that I won't bore you with,but day by day and layer by layer,the pool began to fill up.Because the Jello went inwith so much heat energywe needed to removebefore it could get firmin addition to using the cold night air,my brother's neighborNick happened to havea spare swamp cooler in his shop,so we kept that running over the topof the pool pretty much the whole week.This gave us convection cooling.It's the equivalent ofrolling down a car windowfor the pool or like when you blowon the top of a hot cup of soup.This constantly replacesthe boundary layerof air right at thesurface with fresh cold airthat will suck out theheat more efficiently.And so, as we put in thefinal batch Friday nightwith ominous weather threateningto ruin the whole effort(upbeat music)at this point we had done all we could.We were exhausted after a week,and I wasn't feeling super confident,because my specialty is more(machinery whirring)with mechanical things,and this project was more about chemistryand thermodynamics.And I didn't want that lameGelli Baff stuff people tryand pass off as Jello.And so even if it didn'tlast long in the sun,I wanted to at least have the experienceof seeing even a single belly flopon a smooth pool of actual Jello.If this was gonna be a total failure,it wouldn't be from lack of effort.And so we woke up Saturday morningwith a forecast for a warm sunny day,and we pulled off the tarpto find a pool filled withactual freaking Jello.(pensive mellow music)And by this point,word in the neighborhoodhad definitely spread aroundas to what we were up to,and my brother asked if someof their friends' kidscould have first dibs.And so with that, I'm happy to report,this is what it looks like to belly flopin a pool of Jello.Not yet.- Wait, wait Adam.- I'm okay!- Careful! (laughs)♪ I will be catching Pokémon ♪(mellow music)♪ In New York City ♪♪ I wanna live the life ♪♪ I will be catching Pokémon ♪♪ In New York City ♪♪ I wanna live the life ♪♪ Come on chill, yo ♪♪ I can't chill ♪♪ Come on chill, yo ♪♪ I can't chill ♪♪ Come on chill, yo ♪♪ I can't chill ♪♪ Come on chill, yo ♪♪ I can't ♪♪ I will be catching Pokémon ♪♪ In New York City ♪♪ I wanna live the life ♪♪ I will be catching Pokémon ♪♪ In New York City ♪♪ I wanna live the life ♪♪ I will be catching Pokémon ♪♪ In New York City ♪♪ I wanna live the life ♪♪ Come on chill, yo ♪♪ I can't chill ♪♪ Come on chill, yo ♪♪ I can't chill ♪♪ Come on chill, yo ♪♪ I can't chill ♪♪ Come on chill, yo ♪♪ I can't chill ♪- When I first got in myself,it was closer to the middle of the day,and one of the things we discoveredwas that direct sunlightover time had the effectof undoing some of thesolidness of the lower layers.(Mark laughing)When you go in, it just, like,fills your nose and, like, ears.It's a very surreal feelingof just being, like,it's kind of hard to move,but it's just slimy and slippery.It actually feels really cool.We have some pool toys(upbeat music)hidden underneath.(laughs) Got it!Wow!It's unlike anything.I mean, it's like swimming in snot(laughs) if that makes any sense.But like a good snot.(upbeat music)To keep it solid for even longer,if we were to do it again,we might put in a heatexchanger pipe systembeneath the surface,sort of like how they freezeindoor ice skating rinksand maybe use a little sugar.That's disgusting!Now at this point, you might be thinking,why would anyone spendthe effort of six monthsof planning and then a solid weekof backbreaking effort just tomake a stupid pool of Jello?And to that I say,\"Why do people go(inspiring music)through the effort ofclimbing Mount Everest?Why did Neil Armstronggo through the effortof stepping on the moon?And why did Pam and Jimgo through the effortof convincing Dwight thatJim had always been Asian?\"- This is Jim!- Sometimes you don't do athing because you should,but simply to prove that you can.Now that my curiosity was fully satiatedand in my ongoing quest(upbeat music)to be the favorite uncle,I told my nephews they can invite someof their friends over,and my brother's family setup a neighborhood barbecue.And at this point, after alot of hours of belly flopsand bowling balls and direct sunlightthe Jell-O was pretty broken down,but that didn't stop us(upbeat music)from setting up a Jell-Opool slip and slide.(singing in foreign language)- Here I go!- And I love their sense of adventure,but it was a bit of an uncle fail moment,because apparently,none of them have everused a slip and slide.(singing in foreign language)(Mark laughs)(Mark's nephew yells)♪ And everybody starts to move ♪♪ As soon as \"Pata Pata\" starts to play ♪♪ Whoo ♪♪ Whoo ♪♪ Whoo whoo whoo whoo ♪♪ Whoo ♪♪ Whoo whoo whoo whoo ♪(singing in foreign language)We didn't actually put any sugar in here,so it's kind of disgusting,so we've got some real juice.(earth thudding)(tense music)(creature roaring)(dinosaur squeaking)(object thuds)(upbeat music)(glass tinkering)(car scraping)(machinery whirring)(kids yelling)(snowballs swooshing)(Jello gurgling)(object thuds)\n"
