Beware The Marshmallow Weenus!
The boys and I were in the store yesterday and we saw a display of Peeps -- confections that consist of nothing more than marshmallows cut into bunny and chick shapes rolled in colored sugar. Bonnie loves them.
I explained to the boys that it's fun to take a mouth full of Peep and then drink some carbonated soda -- for whatever reason, the Peep dissolves in the soda and turns into a rapidly expanding froth. It's like being a rabid dog, I explained.
This got Bob's gears turning. He wanted to know why.
At first Bob thought it was because of the caffeine. But it's not -- it works equally well with non-caffeinated soda.
I suggested that it my be some catalytic reaction between the sugar in the Peeps and the CO2 used to carbonate the soda. Bob pondered this, but it still didn't explain it to his satisfaction.
"Maybe it's got something to do with the Marshmallow Weenus," he said, gravely.
"The Marshmallow Weenus?" I asked.
"Yeah, the Marshmallow Weenus," he repeated.
"What the heck is the Marshmallow Weenus?"
He looked at me dumbly. "You know, the marshmallowiness," he repeated again.
I had it in my head that he was referring to some mythical monster called the Marshmallow Weenus. Some dread, shambling beast made entirely of Marshmallow Peeps. I kinda like my idea better.