The recent introduction of inexpensive high-speed cameras offers a new experimental approach to many simple but fast-occurring events in physics. In this paper, the authors present two simple demonstration experiments recorded with high-speed cameras in the fields of gas dynamics and thermal physics. The experiments feature vapour pressure effects as well as adiabatic cooling observed upon opening a bottle of champagne. The authors also give simple qualitative and quantitative descriptions of the underlying physics. (Contains 7 figures.)