Dear Emily,

If you’ve ever had flat soda, you know a sip isn’t the same without some fizzy bubbles. We can hear them pop and feel them burst on our tongue.

I wondered if there was some secret ingredient that made soda bubbly. My friend Kenny McMahon, who researches food science here at Washington State University, and I decided to investigate.

We grabbed a balloon, a bottle of soda, and salt. We filled the balloon with about a teaspoon of salt. Then, we twisted the cap off the bottle and stretched the balloon over the top. When the balloon was secure, we tipped in the … Continue reading Soda: Why does it fizz?