Mountain Dew can dissolve small animals

Question

Mountain Dew is a very popular drink, along with most other Pepsi products. However, the contents of the drink can have harmful effects, and not in the way that people usually would think. This article goes in detail about a legal case that Pepsi Co. faced in 2009, where a man from Illinois claimed he found a dead mouse in his Mountain Dew. Shockingly, Pepsi Co. had experts testify to say that the mouse would have "dissolved into the soda." The article was written on January 2nd, 2012.

Comments

I forgot to say, the article was written by The Atlantic, a multi-platform publisher that is (from what I can tell) a credible source. Information about the legal case was provided by the Madison County Record.

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I remember reading an article from a couple of years ago. The man's name is Ronald Ball. In his claim, he stated that he had opened a can of Mountain Dew and found a dead mouse inside. In PepsiCo's response, they argued that "the soda's acid would have dissolved the mouse before it reached store shelves, turning it into a 'jelly-like substance'." PepsiCo's defense team hired experts to support this claim, they found that it was possible for the mouse to dissolve within a couple of months. However, others have argued that there isn't enough acid in the soda to dissolve the mouse. The acids found in Mountain Dew are citric and phosphoric acid, which can erode bones and teeth over time.

I found my information both of these articles
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/no-easy-way-to-dissolve-mouse-in-mountain-dew-1.1190465#:~:text=A%20man%20in%20the%20U.S.,that%20Ball's%20claim%20is%20impossible.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/can-mountain-dew-really-dissolve/#:~:text=While%20published%20studies%20have%20not,It%20will%20be%20like%20rubber.%22

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You did a good job giving references to both sides of the argument with experts weighing in different opinions. I'm surprised that there doesn't seem to be a definitive answer to this question because it is easy enough to test if one simply tried it out. It seems clear that no, Mountain Dew would not fully dissolve a rat, but not entirely clear if it would dissolve it to a jelly-like substance like PepsiCo claims it would.

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When researching further, there seems to be many mixed reviews in different articles. Many do state that yes, Mountain Dew can dissolve animals, with claimed leading to the strong citric acid that softens teeth playing a role. It is interesting how many state that that "researchers say.." but there don't seem to be any forms of experiments done to fully test the theory. Others, such as Canadian food experts, state that it is the opposite, and animals can not dissolve with it. There seems to be no clear and blunt answer currently.

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When I did further research I found articles that stated that there is not enough acid in a can of Mountain Dew to begin the process of decomposing. Therefore the mouse couldn't have mouse couldn't have decomposed. I saw other articles stating that the mouse would have had to be in the can for a couple of months for it to start decomposing. I found my evidence for this claim here-https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/no-easy-way-to-dissolve-mouse-in-mountain-dew-1.1190465#:~:text=%22There%20would%20not%20be%20enough,at%20the%20University%20of%20Guelph.&text=%22The%20mouse%20would%20start%20to,acid%20to%20preserve%20the%20mouse.

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I liked that you gave references to both sides of the arguments, in which experts from both sides stated their opinions. I found it to be really surprising that there isn't a clear, definitive answer to this debate; as I feel that simply conducting an experiment, despite the questionability of its ethics, would confirm the answer. Based on your sources provided, it seems clear that Mountain Dew cannot fully dissolve a rat, but it is relatively unclear as to whether PepsiCo's claim that it would dissolve it into a gelatinous substance are true.

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I remember hearing about this. The mouse couldn't have dissolved because according to one of the quotes in the article t says it would've become a "jelly like substance" instead, so it seems like you gave a credible source to the claim.

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I found this claim very alarming and after reading further i'm glad this is being brought to attention. I remember seeing or hearing briefly about this on the internet but never really believed it. It's terrifying to hear the company itself coming out saying it should have dissolved as well as getting the opinions from others who state it would have turned to a rubber like substance. Both alarming none the less. I found this source credible to the claim.

Answer 1

Small animals can't physically "dissolve" from the soda. Specifically rodents such as the mouse found in a consumers can would not dissolve int the liquid but rather physically change into a rubber like substance. Yan- Fang Ren whom studied effects of the products acid states that it "does not mean it will disappear".

 Can Mountain Dew Really Dissolve a Mouse Carcass?

Comments

I appreciate you clarifying that an animal skeleton wouldn't fully dissolve in Mountain Dew, and I think the source you provided seems credible. I wonder if you could draw from a second source to make your response even stronger?

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I agree with you, the word "dissolve" implies that the mouse is boiled down to a liquid or disappears entirely, and your source says that isn't true. The article is on Scientific American which is a peer reviewed journal, and thus is likely a credible source.

Answer 2

Fact checking the claim "Mountain Dew can dissolve small animals", I have found reason to disprove this claim. To be specific, if a mouse was trapped in a small can of Mountain Dew, it would not dissolve. According to professionals in the field of food science, like professor Massimo Marcone, a can of Mountain Dew does not contain enough acid to completely dissolve a mouse or small animal. Additionally, the mouse's protein parts are at a lower PH than the pop. All things considered, a small animal could not dissolve to the point of disappearance in a can of Mountain Dew. No doubt, Pepsi co. may want to provide a better defense next time someone claims to find a mouse in their Mountain Dew. 

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/can-mountain-dew-really-dissolve/

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/no-easy-way-to-dissolve-mouse-in-mountain-dew-1.1190465#:~:text=A%20man%20in%20the%20U.S.,that%20Ball's%20claim%20is%20impossible.

Comments

Your fact-check helped me to understand how this claim was false while educating me on the specific reasonings. Not only getting your information from food scientists but also from science articles proves the credibility because you mentioned the protein parts of the mouse compared to the PH levels on the soda.

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You do a good job of knocking down this claim with strong evidence and reliable sources. It was helpful that you spoke about the Ph levels in the soda as compared to the protein parts of the rat, rather than just saying the mouse wont disappear because this takes away any skepticism of your evidence. It was also quite beneficial to utilize the work of a food scientist, cause it's their job to knock down claims like this one.

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Thank you for doing a well done fact checking and assuring the world that a mouse cannot just simply dissolve in a bottle of Mountain Dew. The CBC news website includes information from an associate professor of food science which confirms that an expert does not agree with this claim, and that Pepsi Co. made this claim themselves for some reason. You do make a good point that this being Pepsi's defense to a mouse being allegedly found inside of a can is not a good tactic for them to use for their business to look good to the public and be highly profitable.

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I liked the structure of your answer it was very straight to point and direct. I appreciate you clarifying the claim, that's very important especially with a billion dollar brand. I also enjoy your detailed answer and how you put the links at the end of your answer. I will be stealing that from you.

Answer 3

After fact-checking this claim I would say that it is false, and exaggerating the claim to prove in court. No published scientific studies have been conducted showing whether or not a mouse would truly dissolve, and it seems without further testing, this statement can't be proven true and should be assumed false until there is further investigation. Researcher Yang-Fang Ren states, "Dissolving [the mouse] does not mean it will disappear because you'll still have the collagen and the soft tissue part. It will be like rubber." Enough of the mouse would hypothetically still remain because the acids are likely not strong enough according to an article by science AM and readdressed by an article from ABC, would only dissolve the bones because of the interaction between citric acids and calcium. 

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/can-mountain-dew-really-dissolve/#:~:text=While%20published%20studies%20have%20not,It%20will%20be%20like%20rubber.%22

https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/weird/mountain-dews-power-to-dissolve-dead-mouse-used-as-legal-defense/1941578/

Comments

Thank your for clarifying that the remains would still be there and the process that it would have to undergo for it to fully dissolve. I liked that you used two resources, but I do wonder if there could be stronger, primary sources that could have been used.

Answer 4

after fact-checking this claim that Mountain Dew can dissolve small animals I found this to be possible in a way but not entirely true. After doing some research it seems that the amount of acid specifically citric acid in a Mountain Dew is not enough to fully decompose a small mouse. Although acids in sodas like that can have strong impacts on claimed small  animals, PepsiCo claims that the soda would have turned into a jello like substance if the mouse was to be funny dissolved from the drink. Therefore if a small animal like a mouse was stuck inside in the liquid it would not dissolve, due to the lack of acid in one can of Mountain Dew. I gathered evidence regarding amount of Acid in the drink on this website: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/no-easy-way-to-dissolve-mouse-in-mountain-dew-1.1190465

Answer 5

According to the CBC news page, there is not enough acid in "the matrix of the can" for a small animal like a mouse to dissolve. The CBC interviewed Massimo Marcone, an associate professor of food science at the University of Guelph for this response. The article claims that things like the hair of the mouse would not be dissolved.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/no-easy-way-to-dissolve-mouse-in-mountain-dew-1.1190465

Answer 6

The claim "Mountain Dew can dissolve small animals" is false and misleading to readers. In the article i found "No easy way to dissolve mouse in Mountain Dew", it states from an associate professor of food science at the University of Guelph that "there would not be enough acid in the matrix of the can to actually start causing those physical changes to the mouse" and that there is no way for a mouse to to dissolve in a 300 milliliters of soft drink. The article also provides the list of ingredients in mountain dew and proves that there is nothing in mountain dew that can physically dissolve rodent creatures.

Answer 7

The article on The Atlantic, has... questionable sources for evidence. One had 404-not-found error when I tried to open it (LegalNewsline). Then the other one (Madison County Record reports) links to a malicious site that was luckily blocked before anything happened. From the untrustworthy sources and the absence of a paid account, I went to other websites, such as cbc.ca. According to the article, Massimo Marcone, an associate professor of food science at the University of Guelph, "There would not be enough acid in the matrix of the can to actually start causing those physical changes to the mouse". Marcone adds an abundant amount of data showing that the chemical properties of the drink can't dissolve mice carcasses.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/no-easy-way-to-dissolve-mouse-in-mountain-dew-1.1190465#:~:text=%22There%20would%20not%20be%20enough,at%20the%20University%20of%20Guelph.&text=%22The%20mouse%20would%20start%20to,acid%20to%20preserve%20the%20mouse.

Answer 8

The main claim about the cite is that Mountain Dew is unhealthy and it has harmful effects in which case people don't notice. 

I have read in the past about this claim, it sounded a little misleading/Exaggerated. From the source it states, "Pepsi Co., facing a lawsuit from a man who claims to have found a mouse in his Mountain Dew can, has an especially creative, if disgusting, defense: their soda would have dissolved a dead mouse before the man could have found it. An Illinois man sued Pepsi in 2009 after he claims he "spat out the soda to reveal a dead mouse," the Madison County Record reports. He claims he sent the mouse to Pepsi, which then "destroyed" the remains after he allowed them to test it, according to his complaint." This claim sounds a bit false, rodents I don't think can physically dissolve into a liquid.  I looked for more information on this topic and found from the site CBS News, it had information on the law suit and the legal things about Mountain Dew. It also stated "It's not the first time the soft drink giant has faced an ugly lawsuit: federal regulators in 2009 said a "disgusting" blob found in a can of Diet Pepsi was probably a frog or toad." The information in this article has the same information as the article above but they don't have evidence or scientific claim about this issue. I think this claim is true but also has some false to it, because if it was true wouldn't they stop selling Mountain Dew?

https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/pepsico-no-dead-mouse-found-in-mountain-dew-soda-would-dissolve-carcass/

Answer 9

The mouse woudln't fully dislove in the soda as claimed. Mountain dew contains citric acid which is also found in a lot of other drinks. "When Fraunhofer's team soaked human molars in Mountain Dew for two weeks (a period of time comparable to approximately 13 years of normal beverage exposure, the researchers calculated) the molars' enamel lost more than 6 percent of its volume." A study conducted the University of Rochester tested the claim. And while it does lead to results, its much slower and the result isnt near what Pepsi claimed. In reality the bones would probably dissolve fully and the rest of the matter would turn into some sort of gross mix.

Answer 10

The Atlantic Article reviews a court case and the outcome of it; where Pepsi disputed claims of a mouse found in a Mountain Dew because they were able to prove that a mouse would dissolve in the time it took for the soda to be bottled to drunken. https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/01/pepsi-says-mountain-dew-can-dissolve-mouse-carcasses/333399/

The article doesn't get into scientific details but another article published by Scientific American does. It states; "

Key to Pepsi's legal argument is that there's no chance a mouse's corpse could survive, intact, for 15 months swimming in Mountain Dew.  While published studies have not been conducted on how rapidly Mountain Dew would dissolve a mouse, there is plenty of evidence to suggest that the neon green soda can eat away teeth and bones in a matter of months, and would likely do quite a number on a rodent." The article also cites professionals like "Yan-Fang Ren of the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, who has studied the effects of citric acid on bones and teeth." 

This article explains the effects of citric acid, a chemical found in Mountain Dew, on teeth and enamel over time. It assesses that in theory, bottling a mouse in Mountain Dew would dissolve the rat into collagen and tissue, proving Pepsi's claim to be true.