On television screens, you can see an advertisement that is not quite clear to the average consumer, in which dentists conduct an unusual experiment with a simple chicken egg. What is the essence of such a demonstration - why should one smear half of an egg with toothpaste? Let's try to answer this question from the point of view of scientific knowledge.
A publicity stunt or reality?
Today, many manufacturers of toothpastes adopted the so-called egg trick, using it in commercials. But the inspiration behind such a marketing move is Blend-a-Med. It was she who first showed consumers such an experiment. In the video, the dentist suggests smearing one side of the egg with toothpaste and leaving the other as is. Then it should be lowered into a liquid medium similar to that located in the oral cavity. Taking the egg out of the liquid in a day, the doctor shows the audience the following result: the half that was smeared with toothpaste remained white and hard, and the other became soft.
Everything is clear with advertising, but how realistic is it? Let's try to figure out why half the egg is smeared with toothpaste.
What is the point?
What is the meaning of such advertising that the manufacturer wanted to demonstrate in this way? Why smear half an egg with toothpaste and leave the other unchanged? Through this marketing move, the salesperson focuses on how their dentifrice protects enamel. On the side where the toothpaste was, the shell remained solid and white, and with the "unprotected" completely dissolved, changed color. The manufacturer shows the audience how their product will take care of the teeth and what can happen if you do not use this particular toothpaste.
This simple idea has become a real legend in the advertising field. Thanks to this move, the demand for the advertised product has grown significantly. And similar commercials began to produce and other manufacturers of toothpastes.
What happens to an egg in vinegar?
Let's see what really happens. We hasten to upset gullible viewers - not everything in such a video is true. Firstly, in an acidic environment, the shell cannot remain white, even if you smear half the egg with toothpaste; and secondly, in our oral cavity, vinegar is still not clean, so the concern that the teeth will become soft in the near future if you do not use the advertised product is a pure marketing trick.
Then why smear half the egg with toothpaste, what will actually happen? There is still some truth in the commercial - a toothpaste that contains fluoride and calcium will really protect the shell a little from destruction. But quite a bit! The effect that is demonstrated in advertising, namely, snow-white hard shells, is impossible to achieve in reality. The egg will noticeably soften and change color, whether it is smeared with toothpaste or not.
Nevertheless, the difference between the two halves will be noticeable. Therefore, we can offer to perform such a simple experiment with children. Thus, kids will clearly get acquainted with the action of toothpaste, the need for its use. How to carry out such work is described in detail below.
Experiment for children
Thanks to this practical study, children will understand how important it is to brush your teeth. For the experiment you will need such materials:
- raw chicken egg (1 or 2 pieces);
- any toothpaste;
- brush;
- glass jar with a lid;
- vinegar is 9 percent.
Take the chicken egg with the baby. For the purity of the experiment, we suggest using 2 pieces - then the result becomes clearer for the child. We suggest that the child smear one egg (or half) with toothpaste using a brush. The other (or second half) is left unchanged. Carefully lower both eggs in a glass jar, after pouring vinegar there, close the lid. The kid will certainly ask the adult about why smear half the egg with toothpaste. He will receive the answer to this question at the end of the experiment.
Now you need to wait 12 hours. After this, you need to remove the eggs from the acidic environment. What will happen? And here is what:
- The shell unprocessed with toothpaste will completely dissolve. The egg will change color, become soft and “jumping”;
- On the other, the shell will become much thinner, but not completely dissolved.
Thus, by analyzing the results, it is possible to answer the child’s initial question about why smear half of the egg with toothpaste.
In our article, we shared the idea of an interesting cognitive experiment with children. In addition, they explained why half the egg should be smeared with toothpaste, why this is necessary and what result to expect.