Why you’ll never know if there was a mouse in your soda

SFGate: Hot Topics ^ | 1/3/12 | Dan X. McGraw

[SmithL]

Mountain Dew will do more than just quench your thirst, according to an expert.

After a man claimed to have found a mouse inside of a Mountain Dew can, Pepsi cited an expert who testified that if a mouse got into a can that it would have been dissolved in the soda’s acid.

[No Socialist]

How many people have had that extra crunch in the movie theater and not realized it was a roach. They didn’t seem shocked or like it was a big deal. Kind of gave me a clue that it happens all the time. Needless to say I’ve given up movie popcorn.

[Rio]

Once a container is opened, wouldn't oxygen diminish the power of the mouse dissolving acid?

Not oxygen, but the loss of carbon dioxide as a gas removes the "carbonic acid" from the soda. I don't know if Mountain Dew (yuck!) is one of those products that adds phosphoric acid to the mix.

[frithguild]

That !@#$%^& mouse built a little hammock in the insulation around the diswasher - which I saw only after I pulled it out from under the counter. So he would wait in his nice insulated hammock for us to leave the kitchen and grab whatever delectables he desired off the counter. The tooth - a $1,200 one mind you, was just above the hammock.

[Slings and Arrows]

I suspect that this story is poorly written. I’ll bet a shiny new nickel that the expert something to the effect that a) the acid would dissolve parts of the mouse, leaving clear signs, b) the mouse that was sent to us was completely undissolved, ergo c) the mouse was never in a can of Mountain Dew.

I’d be curious to hear the results from the FReepers who indicated their willingness to try the meat-in-the-Mountain-Dew experiment. IMO, the container should be sealed and meat allowed to soak for several days, to come as close to the alleged circumstances as possible.

[frithguild]

There is no way a mouse can get in.

Sabotage

[annieokie]

"""""That !@#$%^& mouse built a little hammock in the insulation around the diswasher - which I saw only after I pulled it out from under the counter. So he would wait in his nice insulated hammock for us to leave the kitchen and grab whatever delectables he desired off the counter. The tooth - a $1,200 one mind you, was just above the hammock."""

ROFL. You just gave away one of the funniest cartoon skits, better put a copyright on that one. That mouse loved his BLING.

[AnotherUnixGeek]

OMG, I once found 2 roaches in my movie popcorn. I returned the popcorn to the concession stand (after I barfed) and they actually scooped me another container. I said “no thank you, please just give me my money back” ugh.

The USDA accepts the presence of insect parts including heads, thoraxes, legs, antenna, etc. in food. Those parts add up and studies have shown that the average American consumes between one to two pounds of insects in his/her food unknowingly every year. It's not feasible to remove every bit of insect material (or mouse and rat hair and feces) from vegetables, grains, meat, etc. We unknowingly eat all kinds of things that we'd never deliberately eat every day, and insects are apparently relatively healthy food.

That said, I don't want to know I'm eating insects. I remember my mom washing some broccoli from the supermarket when I was a kid - a fat green caterpillar the exact shade of the broccoli was crawling on it and it was gross enough to turn me off broccoli permanently. Still can't touch the stuff.

[Flying Circus]

The primary acid in soda is phosphoric (Coke & Pepsi) or Citric (Mountain Dew, Sprite, etc). They are not strong acids but they do a pretty good job marinating meat and will leach calcium out of teeth and bones. Combined with Carbonic Acid in soda can for the time it takes to get from the factory to point of sale, it sounds plausible that a mouse would be reduced to an unrecognizable glob.

[Levante]

When I was an army brat back in the 70’s, I remember hearing on the radio about a woman claiming that she opened a can of Coca-Cola with a rat inside.

[dangus]

Mythbusters tested this myth... Based on their results, I find it inconceivable that there would be no trace of a mouse, but the mouse may be hard to recognize. They soaked a steak or pork chop and it was pretty good at dissolving it.

[frithguild]

It is a true story.

At first I thougt I swallowed the tooth - so I had to do the necessary to be sure I didn’t. I even went for an X-Ray to make sure it didn’t get stuck somewhere inside me.

I had to think of how to explain to the homeowners insurance company how it was a mouse that stole my tooth, so I took pictures of mouse poop that was under the microwave.

I hate mice

[cuban leaf]

Meh. I would have still ate popcorn from that very oil. I figure that, in my life, I’ve probably consumed many pounds of cockroaches in bits and pieces in the cereal I eat and other processed foods. Not to mention rats, etc.

A single cockroach floating in oil is no big deal, other than the implication that there may be others scampering around the other food. They are not loners.

[Darth Reardon]

52 posts and not one Bob and Doug reference.

[cuban leaf]

—There are federal food standards for rodent hair parts per million.—

This.

Though to be fair, assuming the guy is telling the truth, his particular can probably violated those standards.

But I strongly doubt he’s telling the truth. Also, no plaintiff should ever win based on a single person’s testimony. If there is proof the mouse was in the can and not placed there by the customer, fine. Otherwise, get lost.

[reed13k]

Lie - I have scientific proof - my daughter did a science project 4 years ago on acidity and one of the acids was mt dew (love the stuff even though dad called it horse p@ss). We put chicken bones into mason jars filled with the diff acids. None completely dissolved after several weeks. (she got an A).
We decided to keep the jars in the garage to see what would happen and pull them out every summer - guess what while flimsier every year the bones are still there. The expert is a fraud.

[Newtoidaho]

I only eat theater popcorn when I feel like paying $10 for 50 cents worth of popcorn. In other words, never.

[Deaf Smith]

‘Cause you blew past post #4.

[annieokie]

OH I believe you, that it is a true story. It is just the funniest thing I have ever heard, for real life.

However, You have a GREAT cartoon or sitcom skit to sell. Go for it.

Mouse poop under the microwave?? lol Now prove that was the same mouse. lol It is just getting funnier. I will be laughing at this for a very long time. Thanks for sharing.

[annieokie]

YUK!!! I would not make a suvivor, once a army guy told me of the camp he had to go to, Talk about YUK. Had to make him stop, and he was cracking up, me too.

[annieokie]

My feeling exactly, roach or no roach.