Between the cohesiveness of the water and forcing the air out, they weren't coming apart-Kol tried, I tried, the kids tried.
Enter SCIENCE!!! (add appropriate echo here....)
If you remember from HS science, solids tend to contract when they are cold, and expand when they are hot. Water is held together with Hydrogen bonds, so you have to figure out a way to break the water bonds without being able to apply the appropriate torque to the glasses or to pull them apart manually. (a machine puller would probably manage this, but hey, Im just a house dad-I haven't earned my Evil League of Evil certificate yet)
So, what to do? I added some Ice to the interior glass and let it sit for about 5 minutes.
and heat up some water while we wait. I microwaved it for about a minute and a half.
After you take out the water (be careful-Microwaved water is unpredictable because the surface tension can make it not boil until you break the surface.) After that, you take the glasses with the ice in the top one and put them bottom first into the water. You may observer any water lines within the glasses moving as the glasses expand and contract.
After about a minute or so, remove the glasses from the water and gently squeeze the top one and gently pull up. The ice chilled the middle glass and the hot water on the outside caused the the exterior glass to expand and the interior glass to contract. Its possible this could be done without the hot water, but I was thirsty!
Put the two remaining glasses back into the water (polycabonate is a great insulator) and wait another minute or so, then repeat.
Grasp the top of the glass with the ice in it and gently pull up. Mission accomplished!
