Stuck-in-the-mud

Have you ever played stuck-in-the-mud?

You know the game I mean. Two people are the tigers (sorry, did you say taggers?) and they have to chase everyone. When they catch someone, that person has to stand still with their arms out (as if they are stuck in the mud, you see) until someone (not the tiger) sets them free. Yes?

Well actually, no.

We have a much more exciting version. With real mud.

So, do you want to know how to play?
OK, first you take the biggest bar of Swiss chocolate you can find. And break it into b i t s. It's solid, you see.

Now get the cooker nice and hot...



and put some water on to boil.



Remember that delicious (hey, you didn't sneak a little taste while no-one was watching did you?) looking bar of solid chocolate that we broke into b i t s? Well, put it into a pan over the boiling water...



until it melts and is no longer solid.

Now what have we got? Yes, a bucket of gooey, sticky, liquid mud.



Now, take a spoonful of gooey, sticky, liquid mud...



and spoon it onto a piece of greaseproof paper.

Now take three gummy bears (no don't bite their heads off!) and push them into the gooey, sticky, liquid mud...



Now go and do some maths or something. And come back later. What do you think will have happened? Will the mud still be a gooey, sticky liquid?

Oh dear, those poor teddies. They seem to be stuck. In solid mud.....



I wonder; what could we do to unstick them?