How Does That Work? Wine Rack

The wine bottle appears to defy gravity in this wonderful gadget. I've been told you can find all variety of these in wine stores, online, etc. Or you can make your own (or have your dad make you one in celebration of your college graduation :) There are instructions throughout the internet, but basically, you take a slab of wood (mine measures about 9" long by 3 or 4" wide, cut a hole in one end,

and trim the edges so they are at 45 degree angles.

In a classroom setting, you'd obviously want to use some sparkling juice instead of wine. I believe that if you make the hole big enough, you could also use a 2L bottle of soda. I wasn't able to test it out - mine isn't large enough to accomodate such a large bottle.

The bottle holder works based on the principle of center of gravity - can your students figure it out?

*****************
How Does That Work is a series of products and demonstrations that you can present to your students and challenge them to explain the science of how they work. Make sure you decide ahead of time what you'll accept as a valid explanation - can it be printed straight off the internet, written in the student's own words, or does the student need to be able to explain it to you conversationally? What will a valid explanation earn the student - a prize, extra credit, a feeling of goodness?