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After every bubbling session, I end up with some unused bubble solution that I can't bring myself to dump down the drain. The leftovers go into a jar labeled "mongrel mix". I have been doing a lot of experimentation with my own mixtures and store-bought bubble solutions in search of the perfect bubble mixture. (Veteran bubblers -- I am a newbie -- are laughing as they read this entry -- or they would if they were reading it.)

20 foot tunnel 2010 05 26

Bubble tunnel created from "mongrel mix"

Every time I go out bubbling (I am mostly having fun with a string wand with a 48-inch top string), I take some experimental mix of my own, a known solution, and my jar of "mongrel mix". Almost every time out, the mongrel mix performs better than any of the solutions that went into it -- including commercial solutions like Cricket Hill which are highly considered among bubblers. The image on this page is of a bubble created with "mongrel mix" that had a little Cricket Hill, a little Gazillion bubbles, ultra dawn, tap water, glycerine, ky jelly, j-lube and some Super Miracle Bubbles (the miracle is that SMB bubbles at all).

I have been surprised a few times to find that a mix that was mostly two poorly performing solutions turned out to perform really well. Much better than any of the component solutions.

My friend Peter Miller has noticed the same thing. The chemistry of bubble solutions seems complex enough that almost all solutions are missing something that would make them better. And that something else is often an ingredient in some other solution. Sometimes even trace amounts make a big difference.

I am currently refining a solution which so far has been outperforming the mongrel mix. But it will be interesting what happens when its discards become part of the mix.

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