Mentos madness as 1,300 students set Diet Coke fountain record

After they each dropped a tube of the mints into a bottle of Diet Coke, Ladeuzeplein square became a sudden sea of foaming soda yesterday, with carbonated streams shooting up to 29 feet high.

Explosion: Belgian students in Leuven out-fizz previous records for adding Mentos to Diet Coke

Films of the Mentos-Diet Coke mix have been posted on Internet entertainments sites attracting at least 10 million viewers.

The previous World Record was set in the U.S., when 973 Cola bottles were launched simultaneously.

The craze has developed into an advertiser's dream with a 20 per cent increase in sales of Mentos Mints last year.

Covered: Seconds later everyone in Ladeuzeplein square is soaked through with sticky soda

The sweet-maker estimates the craze is worth $10 million free advertising a year. Coca-Cola has also signed deals with leading Internet video celebrities and even ran a Diet Coke-Mentos video on its website for three months.

Scientsts: The men in white coats ensure the bottle explode properly before the attempt

Although there is no exact scientific explanation for the phenomenon, scientists agree that the reaction is physical, not chemical.

The most popular cause is believed to be the thousands of tiny pores on each Mentos Mint, which act like nucleation sites allowing carbon dioxide bubbles to form in the drink.

The bubbles form all over the sweets and when its sink to the bottom it causes the carbon dioxide to whoosh out of the bottle.