Imagine a world where regular tap water had the consistency of honey and your favorite carbonated beverage felt like pudding as it slid down your throat. In this thrilling episode of The Action Lab YouTube series, The Action Man explores the peculiar universe of "thick water" and other viscous curiosities.
Designed for people with dysphagia, a condition that makes swallowing difficult, "thick water" has the texture of syrup while retaining the tastelessness of water. It is ordinary water mixed with flavorless thickeners like maltodextrin and xanthan gum to increase its viscosity.
You can find videos of people taste-testing thick water, and many find it hideous, likening it to drinking spit. However, Action Man doesn't mind; he finds it almost pleasant.
But why stop at water? Action Man extends his experiment to Coke and milk. By introducing a thickening agent, he transforms these everyday beverages into pudding-like Coke and yogurt-esque milk. The latter, to his delight, turns out to be surprisingly enjoyable.
Then he brings in another taste tester, presumably his wife or girlfriend, who dry heaves and spits out the concoction.
Action Man's next experiment involves ethanol and pure water, altering their viscosity by changing the liquids' temperature. He concludes the episode with a visually stunning experiment — a metal sphere's journey through hot and cold water becomes a lesson in fluid dynamics, revealing the higher viscosity of cold water.
