Foam-tastic! Check out this largest elephant’s toothpaste record

By Connie Suggitt

Published 29 June 2018

American TV presenters Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest recently had their studio covered in foam by the Largest elephant’s toothpaste fountain.

What on earth is an elephant’s toothpaste fountain?!

An Elephant’s Toothpaste Fountain comes from a chemical reaction between sodium iodide and hydrogen peroxide.

When mixed in a tube, it creates colourful foam that burst up into the air!

During the show, experiment expert Science Bob also shared some other interesting facts about the world of science, including how certain chemicals can change the colour of fire.

Science Bob and the TV presenters tried a smaller version of the elephant’s toothpaste, before trying the big one.

For the attempt, two buckets of the sodium were poured into 40 litres of the hydrogen, causing hundreds of gallons of foam to spread across the studio like lava!

In total, the fountain measured a whopping 13.07 m³ (461 ft³ 967 in³), earning a brand new record title for the hosts Kelly and Ryan, as well as Science Bob.

"The elephant's toothpaste demonstration was such a fun and dramatic way to share the world of chemistry in a big way, and it ended up looking so amazing! Hopefully it might inspire others to shoot for their own record attempt," - Science Bob

He, along with 30 other science teachers, hold the record for the Most ping-pong balls released in zero-gravity, where 2,016 floating balls were released in an anti-gravity aircraft!

If you enjoyed watching this massive, record-breaking experiment take place, you can learn how to do more fun science activities by checking out the Make and Break section of our website, where you could break your very own record!