Place 500 mL of glass cleaner in the spray bottle. Add 15 ml of concentrated ammonia to increase basicity.

Pre-demonstration Preparation:

1. The pink shake bottle is prepared 15 minutes before the performance. (Since the solution turns yellow-brown with time, preparing it just before the show keeps the colorless state longer.) The shake bottle is prepared as follows:

Dissolve 48 g of KOH in 1800 mL of distilled water in a 2 L Erlenmeyer flask. This step can be done well in advance of the performance. Add 60 g of dextrose and allow to dissolve completely. Add 15-25 drops of the resazurin solution, stopper and shake, and let the flask sit to allow the solution to become colorless.

2. Before the show begins, the pink shake bottle is placed under the skirted table located onstage left.

3. The pot containing white flowers that turn pink is made as follows:

Modify a 12" plastic terra cotta flower pot by sealing up the holes in the bottom and gluing a plastic tube to the center (1" id x 7" long). Modify a 12" plastic plant saucer by making a hole for the plastic tube in the center and several smaller holes around the periphery. Set the saucer inside the pot and fill saucer with green Easter grass.

4. The white flowers that turn pink are made from ìsuitableî white silk flowers (I like flowers with lots of petals e.g. peonies). Spray them with the phenolphthalein solution, allow them to dry, and insert them into the tube in the center of the pot.

5. The pot is placed on a catch tray on the stage right table before the show begins.

6. Add 500 mL of distilled water to the watering can and place it on the catch tray on the stage right table before the show begins.

7. Place the Windex spray bottle on the stage right table.

The Demonstration:

As the music starts the Pink Panther makes a surprising entry (e.g. from under a table or from behind a curtain). He discovers the shake bottle (the blue one on the stage left table), shakes it, reacts negatively to the blue color, and sets it under the table. He proceeds to stage right and waters the flowers. There is no color change. He then discovers the blue, Windex solution and sprays the flowers. He reacts positively to the pink color. Proceeding to stage left, he takes a shake bottle from under the table (the pink one stored there before the show), shakes it on cue from the music (see the video), reacts favorably to the pink color, and exits.

Safety Precautions:

The shake bottles are caustic (approximately 0.5 M KOH). Safety glasses must be worn by the demonstrator. The demonstrator must put the palm of their hand over the rubber stopper before shaking.

Disposal:

The solutions are treated as acid/base waste. Once neutralized, they are flushed down the drain.

Reference:

Shakhashiri, Chemical Demonstrations, Vol. 2, pp. 142-146, Univ. of Wisconsin Press (1985).