Vacuum pressure always confused me at first. I mean, how can "nothing" suck things in? It sounds backwards. So I grabbed some everyday stuff to figure this out hands-on.

The Stuff I Used

• One empty plastic soda bottle (the kind you crush easily)
• A handful of mini marshmallows
• A cheap vacuum sealer I got for storing veggies
• A regular balloon
• That drawer in the kitchen that always sticks shut

Started simple. Remember crushing empty plastic bottles as a kid? I tried it again. Squeezed the bottle hard. Let go. POW! It sucked itself right back into shape. Felt weird. Like the air outside was pushing it back way harder than I squished it.

Okay, next I grabbed that annoying sticky drawer. Pulled it open slightly – just enough to let air in slowly. Heard that little ffft sound? Pushed it shut easy. Then I tried shutting it fast, slammed it. BAM! Felt resistance, like pushing against a cushion. Air inside had nowhere to go fast enough.

Feeling bolder. Took the soda bottle and put three mini marshmallows inside. Hooked up my little vacuum sealer hose to the bottle opening. Sealed it tight. Flipped the switch.

WHIRRRR... Saw the marshmallows start puffing up! Like tiny pillows inflating. Turned off the sealer fast. SSSSST! Heard air rushing back in as I disconnected the hose. Marshmallows instantly shriveled back down, looking super sad. What? Blew my mind. Less air inside made them expand? So weird.

One more. Took the balloon, only blew a tiny puff of air into it. Enough to barely round it out. Squeezed it into the plastic bottle. Stretched the neck over the bottle opening. Sealed it. Sucked air out again with the sealer. Saw the balloon get pulled open inside the bottle as the air vanished! It started filling up – inside the vacuum! Turned the machine off. Pulled it out. The balloon went limp. Empty space inside the bottle pulled the balloon open? Yup.

Here's what clicked:

• "Vacuum Suck" isn't real. Stuff just gets pushed by the air outside that's always pressing on everything.
• Less air inside means outside air wins. It pushes harder on anything weak - like the bottle walls, the balloon, the marshmallows.
• That drawer slam? Air trapped inside pushed back when I tried squishing its space too fast.

Saw that? No magic rocket science. Just using cheap stuff off my shelf made it clear. Less air inside means the ordinary air around us starts bossing stuff around. That push is vacuum pressure. Simple. Go try crushing a chip bag! Watch it inflate.

(Important: Don't melt plastic bottles with strong pumps! Stay safe!)