Soaking Gummi Bears in Water for Fun and Profit (Mostly Fun, Alas)

by Christopher Null  /  March 26, 2004

The mind-bending effect of soaking a Gummi Bear overnight in water. Unsoaked bear shown for scale.

Soaking credit: Steve King, Mobile PC managing editor.

Christopher Null

Christopher Null is a veteran technology journalist and the owner of Null Media, a custom blogging company.

75 Comments

  1. purplebear on May 27, 2009 at 4:16 pm

    ooooh, umm kinda makes ya wonder just what’s in them gummi bears for that to happen to them. lol :)



    • OJSeempson on August 30, 2009 at 12:15 pm

      You’re joking, right?



      • bathrobit on August 30, 2009 at 1:17 pm

        I wish, but the sad truth is that most people have a very limited grasp of science, so any display of something that surprises them, even those with a very simple scientific explanation, like osmosis, is met with worry.



        • lunchboxx on August 30, 2009 at 2:44 pm

          o yeah, genius man over here.



          • Rep on October 28, 2009 at 8:47 pm

            Ah, an excellent example of fear projection. This has been most educational. :D



      • ShadelandShurtle on August 31, 2009 at 11:07 am

        You know, some people don’t know. So don’t be a dick about it.



        • rowrow on October 17, 2009 at 7:09 pm

          But then how will they know that I’m better than them?



          • Brittany. on October 23, 2009 at 1:06 pm

            They won’t. I’m pretty sure they could live without that useless information.



          • Ben on December 5, 2009 at 10:02 am

            I agree with rowrow. I mean you gotta let people know you are better then them. especially on the intronet.



    • TheClaw on October 14, 2009 at 8:30 pm

      Stomach acid.



  2. bananas on May 31, 2009 at 1:04 pm

    osmosis. =)



  3. Ken on August 30, 2009 at 3:28 pm

    Osmosis- The diffusion of water through a semi-permeable membrane. One of the only definitions I remember from 8th grade biology. :)



    • Russell on October 12, 2009 at 8:51 am

      Osmosis is the movement from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration through a semi-permeable membrane



      • James on October 14, 2009 at 1:18 pm

        That’s why he said ‘DIFFUSION’
        Diffusion – Def. – Movement of a fluid from an area of higher concentration to an area of lower concentration.



        • Chris on October 23, 2009 at 8:16 am

          And technically, osmosis refers only to the movement of water. As James said, diffusion is the movement of any substance from higher to lower concentration.

          I knew that biology degree would come in handy.



          • Ari on October 25, 2010 at 3:32 am

            He did say the diffusion of water…



  4. Mik on August 30, 2009 at 3:38 pm

    Ken I remember that exact same phrase from high biology too, not much else.



  5. Illuria on August 30, 2009 at 3:54 pm

    purplebear just reminds me of that woman who sees the rainbow in her sprinkler and then makes a video about ‘what are they putting in our water?’



  6. purplebear[mobile] on August 30, 2009 at 4:32 pm

    this is me on my mobile, disregard my comment, i suck cock.



  7. Sunnie on August 30, 2009 at 5:52 pm

    Coolness! I know what I’m serving at my next party!



  8. william on August 30, 2009 at 8:23 pm

    think this would work with alcohol? slightly bigger molecule… but maybe? worth a try. vodka gummy bears.



    • i on August 30, 2009 at 11:38 pm

      Doesn’t work. very sad. But get the Orange slice candies, soak them in the vodka for couple of days. Strain out the now dead orange slices (Do not eat them, really wretched texture). You get a really sweet and thick, very orange vodka liquer.



    • Kit on August 27, 2012 at 7:46 am

      Vodka gummi bears totally work, and anyone telling you otherwise is the enemy of fun. However- eat them the night you make them, as leftover vodka gummi bears are… well, just toss ’em before you pass out – trust me.



  9. norm on August 30, 2009 at 8:51 pm

    Wow, you could cut the elitism in here with a knife.



  10. notsure on August 30, 2009 at 9:22 pm

    the definition we had to learn in the 7th grade was “the passing of a substance from a greater concentration to a lesser concentration through a semi-permeabe membrane” as best I can recall



  11. soapy5 on August 30, 2009 at 9:24 pm

    so not being an imbecile = elitism?



  12. Non Elitist on August 30, 2009 at 9:53 pm

    So u think everione should no how two spel properle ande have an basic knowledge of how thins work scientificalle? taht is stapid, know one can kep al taht knowledge, if it wur posible teh world would implode due two ekscess informatien. u peopul make me sick.

    Made possible with spell uncheck, look it up.



  13. Luis Arenas (México) on August 30, 2009 at 10:37 pm

    this pic was cool till i saw all the bs people left in this post.



  14. Anon on August 30, 2009 at 11:09 pm

    Wouldn’t this be diffusion instead of osmosis? I don’t think gummy bears have any membranes.



    • Mr. Pothead on August 31, 2009 at 5:35 am

      You wouldn’t think pot had membranes either, but I cure my weed with osmosis.

      Not to mention my gummi bears. From now on anyway.

      Matter of fact I’m going to go to the grocery store for some gummi bears right now.

      Any of you smart guys wanna tell me if there’s a way to do this faster than a day?



      • musashi_hai on August 31, 2009 at 9:52 am

        to speed process place gummie bears in a beaker 1/2 full of water. Top plugged with rubber plug with hole. A tube leading into the plug carries the air pressurized by a compressor
        (2-3 lb max)The pressurized surroundings will accelearate process. Do not heat.



      • Pinky` on October 24, 2009 at 5:52 am

        Pot has membranes. All cells, human, plant or bacterial, have membranes. So that includes pot.

        When it comes to gummi bears, they don’t have membranes, but they can swell in water because of the gelatin, which can retain LOTS of water. When the gummi bears are soaked, they get softer. Jell-O with the proper amount of water solidifies, but if you put in more water, it gets softer. I don’t know what this process is called, but anyway, it’s all because of the jelly!

        -X- Pinky`



  15. Roy Blacksail on August 30, 2009 at 11:45 pm

    Ill have to try this with vodka.
    anyone else thinking of trying this dont leave booze uncovered for long periods of time, it evaporates faster then water and your vodka will turn into little more then gross tasting water

    @the last guy, good question, i dodnt remember what exact constitues a membrane



  16. Tove on August 31, 2009 at 12:00 am

    Instead of making fun of people who know less than you maybe you could share your knowledge.



  17. ShrimpFarts on August 31, 2009 at 12:28 am

    Dear LAWDY!

    Non Elitist, I am deeply concerned by your lack of total control over your inability to spell correctly.

    I lose sleep on a nightly basis because of this.

    Get a job.

    (“snicker” :) )



  18. Poops Alot on August 31, 2009 at 4:32 am

    What is best in life? To crush your enemies, see them driven before you and hear the lamentation of the women! – “Conan the Barbarian”



  19. Jim Smith, João Pessoa, Brazil on August 31, 2009 at 8:11 am

    Oh no! Now some entrepreneur will soak gummi bears and sell them as “King-Size Bears.”

    H.L. Mencken was right, “No one ever lost money underestimating the taste of the American Public.”



  20. John on August 31, 2009 at 5:08 pm

    So where exactly are the membranes in gummy bears? There mostly just sugar aren’t they? What’s sugar doing with a semi-permeable membrane?



  21. Just me on August 31, 2009 at 7:46 pm

    Dude, they’re made of mostly gelatin, hence the expansion when soaked in water. Jell-0 would do much the same thing before it completely dissolved. I am guessing (not factual, just a hypothesis), that if you left the gummy bear long enough, it too, would dissolve.



  22. sauceman on August 31, 2009 at 10:03 pm

    If more people knew about this, their gummy bear collections would last for months instead of hours.



  23. facepalmdotjpeg on September 1, 2009 at 5:04 pm

    you all make my balls hurt, just sitting here arguing over the gummi bear. who cares? it’s bigger and that’s funny. no reason to get all pompous about it.



  24. Mongo on October 7, 2009 at 10:50 am

    ^^^^^^^^^^^^ all ballbags



  25. Kilgore Trout on October 7, 2009 at 4:46 pm

    Mortay, my man what it is?



  26. anthony on October 7, 2009 at 10:15 pm

    How about simple absorption.



  27. anojym on October 8, 2009 at 1:15 am

    To everyone suggesting doing this with vodka: wouldn’t the ethanol dissolved the gummy bears? They are made with gums and not gelatin right?



    • Chris on October 23, 2009 at 8:18 am

      I am thinking you are right. Seems that the alcohol would dissolve the bears, but I couldn’t say for sure.



  28. Turd for a Dildo on October 12, 2009 at 4:06 am

    Hardy har, what a thread.



  29. It's poison on October 12, 2009 at 5:06 am

    Don’t do this at home, it’s now filled with a chemical, dihydrous monoxide and is highly addictive and deadly. Please heed this warning, EVERYONE who comes into contact with this substance will die!!



    • Tushon on October 13, 2009 at 2:05 am

      OMG ITS THE POISON. GET IT OUT.

      I’m wondering how many people will get it. Good joke. Almost had me making a troll bait comment till I re-read it for clarity!



    • Scott on October 20, 2009 at 6:11 am

      LOL
      the fact that dihydrous monoxide is WATER!!!
      ¬.¬



      • Pinky` on October 24, 2009 at 5:55 am

        You joke-spoiler!



    • 3-Headed Duck on April 18, 2011 at 5:06 pm

      Interesting. Around here, we call it “protium hydroxide”. But I suppose your DHMO is a bit more plentiful, since it can include trace amounts of deuterium hydroxide and the occasional tritium hydroxide.



  30. The Baldchemist on October 14, 2009 at 12:41 pm

    Well you smart lot;I have just invented powdered water!

    Now all I need to do is find something to mix it with.



  31. wille on October 14, 2009 at 2:42 pm

    am I the only one who think they taste horrible afterwards? tasteless and harder to chew? anywho… why am I even commenting on this shit…



  32. Dr bob on October 14, 2009 at 3:20 pm

    Osmosis is generally carried out by fine particle filtration using a membrane plant and a biological aeration not to be confused with a solid which would prefer to bond with H2O molecules (covalent bonding) so therefore by nature of there being more atoms there is a greater area e.g. bigger Gummi bear pmsl.



  33. Soaking Gummi Bears in Water | web pulp 2.0 on October 14, 2009 at 6:47 pm

    […] (Christopher Null) […]



  34. Lillith on October 14, 2009 at 8:20 pm

    You elitist science jockies are slap-fighting over osmosis and diffusion but you don’t know enough to know that the damn gummy bear, of course, has membranes as it has cells?!

    The next time you’re about to reach your hand out to anonymous-douch bag all over a stranger, at LEAST have the presence of mind to think about how much of a dumbass you might sound like when someone asks you a question.

    I’m trying it with sour gummies and pucker.



  35. splort on October 14, 2009 at 11:34 pm

    It’s not osmosis/diffusion you bunch of sack sucking cracktards. It’s a normal gummi bear next to a large gummi bear. You can purchase larger gummi bears which has less sugar and are more chewy and fun to play with… Science sucks and doesn’t apply here you pathetic internet erudition zealots.



    • Pinky` on October 24, 2009 at 5:54 am

      Oh come on… the larger gummi bears look exactly the same as the smaller ones, and are not translucent like the one in the picture. and yes, there is science involved!



      • JJ on October 29, 2009 at 11:54 pm

        Splort is a troll, no such thing as larger gummy bears. His post is nothing more than an attempt to get others to respond, obviously this story is legit.



  36. essie on November 5, 2009 at 11:15 pm

    for profit?



  37. jon on November 11, 2009 at 9:59 pm

    I wonder what would happen if you put these gummi bears in your nose. Is anyone willing to try that?



  38. Digbick on December 20, 2009 at 3:18 pm

    I wouldn’t want one of them swimming up my arse!



  39. wiggles on February 17, 2010 at 9:59 am

    do they shrink back to normal size?



  40. uoyopw on March 20, 2010 at 8:17 am

    imgoing to try it but it probably wont work



  41. Dave on April 11, 2010 at 8:45 pm

    Will this work for my girlfriend if she stays in the tub all night? It’ll save some serious bucks for a boob job..



  42. Janet on November 19, 2010 at 11:00 pm

    Use hot water and you get jello



  43. KayKay on January 13, 2011 at 6:45 pm

    Omg i just got some gummi bears!!!! i hope it works!!!! ill post a comment and let u kno if it does :)



  44. kybeth on February 14, 2011 at 11:29 am

    how is that real tell me and write back please



  45. tatianna on August 30, 2011 at 6:30 pm

    were doing that in school



  46. freakhog on January 18, 2012 at 12:55 pm

    works with rum too



  47. AlkoholikAnon on July 24, 2012 at 3:05 pm

    Soak em in liquor….they’re like chewy little jello shots! I do it almost every time I have a party