I don't know exactly what they're called, but does anyone remember from about the middle to late '90s when ''light bracelets'' or the shakable sticks of light that you could wrap around your arm, usually given at parties?

Also, remember when 'party smoke' was huge at parties? This was also a mid to late 90s thing. I used to love the smell of the stuff.

I don't know exactly what they're called, but does anyone remember from about the middle to late '90s when ''light bracelets'' or the shakable sticks of light that you could wrap around your arm, usually given at parties?

Also, remember when 'party smoke' was huge at parties? This was also a mid to late 90s thing. I used to love the smell of the stuff.


Those lit-up bracelets are still around. They've been around since at least the early '80s and they usually sell them at fairs, amusement parks, and festivals.

As for the dry ice, I think it's been around since at least the '70s. Looking at old concert videos from the mid-70s on You Tube, dry ice seemed to be a big thing back then along with those rainbow overhead lights.

But yeah, since you mentioned it, I don't recall seeing dry ice lately at clubs...

Is party smoke that stuff that they used to have at boardwalks that smelt like flour?

Is party smoke that stuff that they used to have at boardwalks that smelt like flour?


I'm not sure if it smelled like flour. I remember it smelling kind of sweet.

Yeah, maybe not flour, I can't think of what it was that it smelt like. It was sweet though.

Yeah, maybe not flour, I can't think of what it was that it smelt like. It was sweet though.


There's a wide range of technologies out there.  The ones that produce a fog of water vapor that clings to the floor are based on dropping dry ice (frozen CO2) into boiling water.  The ones that fill rooms from top to bottom with dense smoke are based on vaporizing mineral oil, glycerine/water mixtures, or propylene glycol/water mixtures at relatively high temperatures.

Probably a glycol-based smoke machine.  It smells sweet for the same reason that antifreeze smells sweet (although propylene glycol is vastly less toxic than the ethylene glycol in antifreeze!)

As for the light bracelets, they're based on some pretty interesting chemistry... google around for lightsticks, and you'll find lots of experiments that can be done pretty safely at home.  There's a huge range of reactions possible, and half the fun is figuring out what's actually inside the things :)

People still sell those light necklaces at formals and socials. The kids hook them all together into one long glowing chain and then dance in a train with them.  :)

So the question is, does dry ice still exist? I don't recall seeing it in the clubs that I still visit on rare occasions. It seemed so popular in the 80s.

So the question is, does dry ice still exist? I don't recall seeing it in the clubs that I still visit on rare occasions. It seemed so popular in the 80s.


Dry ice is frozed carbon dioxide, carbon doixide dilutes the oxygen, which is how it puts out fires (the extinguishers with very large horns are carbon dioxide types).  Being in a room with high CO2 concentrations can be deadly, it is probably not allowed any more for decorative purposes.

So the question is, does dry ice still exist? I don't recall seeing it in the clubs that I still visit on rare occasions. It seemed so popular in the 80s.


Totally!  Local industrial and/or restaurant suppliers will have plenty.  Dry ice is cheap, widely available, and if you follow the basic safety precautions, very safe.  (Billy's right that it's not perfectly safe.  CO2, being denser than air, will tend to accumulate at the bottom of the floor.  In a dance hall, that's not a really big problem, because the club has a huge volume of air and a lot of ventilation to keep the place semi-comfortable.  I wouldn't use it indoors in a house without a ventilation system.)

Depending on where you live, you can even get it at supermarkets, although you might have to ask for help.  A little googling for "dry ice shipping" will lead you through some pretty nonprofessional websites... but in the same way that your mechanic probably doesn't have a good website, that's OK.  The people in the ice business have been around for a lot longer than these newfangled internets.

Favorite thing to do with dry ice was to get a bunch of big graduated cylinders, fill 'em with food coloring and cold water, and just drop a few chunks into the bottom.  They'd look delighfully spooky and bubble away for about an hour.  A small LED throwie underneath the cylinder would make it even better.

Cue Bobby "Boris" Pickett:

http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/uploads/images/Picture%2025.png

I was working in the lab, late one night...

So the question is, does dry ice still exist? I don't recall seeing it in the clubs that I still visit on rare occasions. It seemed so popular in the 80s.


Not sure if it was dry ice or some other form of fog/smoke machine my son had at a recent birthday party.  It was at a local music studio and the kids were taught some simple tunes/rhythms then the band played the song complete with flashing lights and fog.  We took some cool looking photos

So the question is, does dry ice still exist? I don't recall seeing it in the clubs that I still visit on rare occasions. It seemed so popular in the 80s.


  Order something from Omaha Steaks.  The good folks at OS will send your 8 filet mignon and 12 Omaha Burgers to ya in a styrofoam box lined with dry ice...