People are passionate about their Easter Candy Experience.
I had no idea of this phenomenon until I wrote my thesis on Cadbury Mini Eggs, and watched it become my most popular post of the month. But the most fascinating concept that came out of that post was…exploding Peeps.
I knew that Peeps were a well-experimented-on confection – my Mom had told me that in high school, they dunked Peeps in every type of corrosive liquid known to man, and none made the chicks dissolve – with the one exception of stomach acid.
(Which makes me wonder how we don’t always have stomach ulcers… or holes all the way through our bellies.)
But anyway. Exploding Peeps.
Robin and Lindsey both mentioned that the best reason to buy Peeps was to make them explode in the microwave.
Obviously, this was something that absolutely insisted upon further investigation.
So, for the first time in my life, I bought a pack of Peeps.
Yes, Ladies and Gentlemen, I spent an entire dollar on this blog post.
(Donations gladly accepted.)
I introduced Ali, for the first time, to this brightly colored treat that looked just like Gramamma’s REAL chicks, then explained that it would be unbelievable amounts of fun to make them explode.
And after her trauma counseling, I got her to guess how long it would take.
So first, the hypothesis:
(Kindly ignore the mess behind her…we were in the middle of packing to go to Gramamma’s house…to see those real chicks…which really, will have a much more traumatic end than our Peeps.)
Then, the experiment:
So there you have it. It’s more of an “expansion” than an “explosion”, but it was highly entertaining to torture Peeps in that manner.
Plus, Ali and I now TOTALLY know what the inventor of Angry Birds was doing when he got his inspiration for the yellow one…
Because, really, being exploded in the microwave would make me pretty angry, too.
Bummer…I was all hyped and ready for the massive explosion. I feel cheated! ;)
But did you SEE how huge they got?? They were like the Octamom at 9 months pregnant – the Octapeep!!! They just immediately deflated when I opened the microwave… I found it to be pretty talented of them!
Peeps were good until I saw that they don’t digest in your stomach very well!! I was kinda ready for an explosion also! Could we have a part 2?
I have never bought Peeps and now I know why. Very entertaining post, though I, also, wanted to see it explode. Did you eat the hot peeps?
Noo… they were nasty looking.
Ali did eat one of the non-exploded ones, and said they were good. I tried a bite of one and thought they were horrible.
Goblet cells and mucin are why we don’t have holes in our stomach. There are special cells that makes mucin (which turns into mucous) to line our stomach with mucous to protect it from the acid. Who knew peeps could be so scientific! :)
Tee hee! I knew one of my smarter readers would explain that fine point!
Ali can do a science fair projects on peeps! Awesome learning experience!
Haha, that was funny! K really enjoyed the video and is now asking to watch it again. I have never bought Peeps before. I like marshmallows but those just seem gross!
Peeps are so scrumptious.
I was also thinking you had discovered a way to make them explode, but then when I realized it was just the microwave I was surprised you hadn’t done that to them before…but maybe not everyone had a little sister who was as obsessed with microwave experiments as mine was.
We are so trying this! And here’s another, tastier experiment for you, as discovered by the Easter Bunny on Easter Eve last year: Peeps are FABULOUS when slow roasted over the gas burner like a marshmallow over a campfire. We (ahem, I mean the Easter Bunny) put them on kabob skewers and held them over a low flame until the sugar coating caramelized and the middle got all gooey and delicious. It was a gourmet Easter treat we (again, I mean the Easter Bunny) immediately decided to make a grown-up Easter Eve tradition. This year the Easter Bunny will buy an extra package of Peeps for just this purpose.
Ha!! I take it your kids didn’t get any Peeps last year, due to the Easter Bunny’s discovery?
Let’s just say that they got a lot FEWER!
I tried this experiment again for fun (using the pink bunny peeps) and this time they started shooting sparks in the microwave.
That can’t be good.
Hmm… maybe the pink bunnies have braces?
That is awesome. Poor little peepers. : )
You CAN make them semi-explode….but it involves a tiny bit of metal and it MAY cause permanent damage to your microwave. Not that I would know anything about that. ;)
I almost died when I saw you didn’t put the Peeps on anything, but I guess it does decrease the amount of things you have to wash in the end…lol!
Something Alli may enjoy is putting an entire pack of unopened Peeps into the microwave and leave them in for about a minute. The Peeps start to swell and eventually the plastic on the outside melts and the Peep-goo starts shooting out the holes in the plastic….WAY COOL! But it does make a pretty big mess.
Thank you for linking to my post!
You have REALLY explored every option of this exploding peep thing, haven’t you??
I can’t stand Peeps either!! GAG! I bet Garrett would love to watch one explode, though. We need to have a Peep Exploding Playdate!
That sounds perfectly (and violently) fun!!
NEW Variation!! Shared by a friend:
Taking a WRAPPED package of Peeps, poke a hole above each peep. (I used a bamboo skewer.) Microwave, and watch the expanding Peeps shoot up through the holes. We did this last night and it was SO cool!
My boys like to put toothpicks in them and see which one pokes the other first. We call it peep jousting! It’s the only reason we ever buy them.
One of my co-workers was munching on blue peeps today and so wanted to experiment with them in the microwave. I brought up your post so she could see what happened with your experiment…she LOVED it! Our lunch room will NEVER smell the same (although sweet burned sugar isn’t quite as bad as some co-workers lunches after using the microwave!) Happy Easter!
Vikki
that’s awesome!! I meant to do a sequel post and run a bunch more experiments of all of the other ideas people sent me – apparently microwaving them in the package is fun, as well as putting two peeps standing up and facing each other, putting toothpicks in their hands, and seeing which bursts the other one first!