In 2006, two scientists decided to drop Mentos into bottles of Diet Coke, creating fountains of the soda and posted the video on YouTube.
That video now has more than 16 million views.
A few of those 16 million views last year must have come from Nick Turko and teammate Aaron Russell.
During a road trip to Harvard last season, when the team was three hours away from Happy Valley, Turko noticed smoke coming from the back of the team’s bus. The smoke forced the bus to pull over at a gas station, forcing the team to wait for a new bus.
While some members of the team waited playing cards, others went into the gas station and decided to buy some of the mints and diet soda to see what YouTube videos they could create.
“We ended up buying every single one of their two liter bottles of Diet Coke and every pack of Mentos they had,” Turko, who is now a senior, said. “They got some more and refilled it. We got some nice videos of it. It was fun.”
Gas stations around the country better stock up just incase the No. 9 Nittany Lions’ bus breaks down again this season.
Penn State will spend the entire month of March on the road, playing eight straight matches away from Rec Hall.
“In a perfect world, if I could schedule [shorter road trips], I would do that,” coach Mark Pavlik said.
On the upcoming trip, Penn State will travel to four different states, with stops in New Jersey, Indiana, Ohio and Virginia.
The Lions will have one quick trip in Marsh, as they will travel to face intrastate rival St. Francis(PA).
This eight-game road trip will feature five matches against EIVA conference foes, opening with Rugters-Newark and NJIT this weekend.
With the current EIVA rankings, Penn State would not host the year end tournament, unless Harvard loses, and the Lions win out.
“They’re are all going to be huge, especially with one loss already in the EIVA,” senior Tom Comfort said. “We have to have a focus every single weekend.”
While the Lions boast a 9-1 record at home, they are 3-2 this season away from Rec Hall, including the loss to Harvard. (Penn State began this season in the Outrigger Invitational in Hawaii, going 2-1.)
“There certainly is [a home court advantage],” Pavlik said. “You go through your normal routine, and any time you don’t deviate from your normal routine, that gives you the advantage.”
Pavlik added that his team will try to develop its own routine on the road, but it is tougher to win on the road than at home.
On the trip, Penn State will get its much-anticipated rubbermatch with Ohio State. The teams traded 3-0 wins this season.
Penn State also takes on IPFW and Ball State.
“It’s just a really good chance to be on the road, to see how we compete against different teams in different gyms,” Turko said.
Last season, Penn State was 5-2 on a similar stretch in the month of March. All five of the wins were over conference opponents — the same conference opponents the team will face this road trip.
“The guys have been to the gyms,” Pavlik said. “They kind of know where we are staying and go to eat. That’s part of it… It’s pretty much the same schedule as we have always played.”
With the Lions’ road trip traveling to several states, the team is excepting some new memories like last year.
“Those are always good, funny memories that you can pass down through traditions, talk about at alumni night,” Comfort said. “They do provide comic relief during those long bus rides so those are fun to have, especially like Aaron’s.”
