THE BEST Dangerous

People do some strange things when they run out of stuff to do. Take, for example, this annual festival which takes place in San Juan de la Vega, Mexico. The sole objective is for participants to hit things with a sledgehammer packed with explosives so it blows up. Todd Hata takes us inside this wild and loud celebration.

After building a retractable blade lightsaber, The Hacksmith is back to show off what this impressive plasma weapon can do. Watch in awe as it burns right through a Stormtrooper, slashes through walls, and melts metal and glass like butter. It’s not as quick at cutting as the ones in the movies, but just as awesome.

Longboarder Josh Neuman and his pals take us on a wild ride down one of the coolest roads on the planet, as a FPV drone pilot Rene Renson chases his crew along a portion of the Lysevegen, a super-curvy street that runs down a mountain in Lysebotn, Norway.

The Hacksmith has been trying to build a real-world lightsaber for quite some time now. The closest he’s gotten up until now is a deadly electric heating element. Now his shop has created a version that retracts like the ones in Star Wars, burning a 4000ºF beam of plasma. That brass and copper steampunk hilt is too cool for words.

There are numerous articles out there on how to make a messy concoction called elephant toothpaste. Engineer Mark Rober has even filled a swimming pool with the stuff. Now, he’s made something far more reactive and explosive, dubbed “devil’s toothpaste.” He then supersized the experiment for a very special fan.

Inspired by the Junk Jet in Fallout 4, The Hacksmith went ahead and built a real-world replica of the unique and destructive weapon. Simply load up its steel barrel with anything you find lying around, and its airbag-powered launcher turns random junk into deadly projectiles.

Joel Creates previously showed off two different designs for a weapon that can fire hot glue. Now, to prove that the third time’s a charm, he created an even more dangerous version. It’s basically like a Super Soaker, except it shoots a stream of molten glue instead of water. Needless to say, don’t try anything like this at home.

In order to improve his hit distance, engineer Shane Wighton Stuff Made Here created a baseball bat with the ultimate sweet spot. If hit just right, explosive charges fire, pushing a piston forward, and launching the baseball into home run territory. Along the way, he shows off his fancy new Tormach 24r mill.

Over the years, The Hacksmith has made some pretty badass gadgets, often inspired by movie props and weapons. This time, they built themselves an awesome metal gauntlet that looks like Iron Man’s armor, then upgraded it with the ability to slice through metal with a plasma cutter. Every workshop needs one of these.

(PG-13: Language) A while back, Joel Creates built a dangerously literal weapon that actually fires hot glue as projectiles. He’s since gone back to the drawing board, revamping its design so it fires a stream of molten glue, and making it a lot cooler to look at.

In the right hands, a whip can be an incredibly painful and precise weapon. But most of the whips we’ve seen are made from leather or paracord. This TikTok clip posted by masterlolik_yt shows how a heavy length of chain can be even more dangerous as a whip as it literally makes oranges explode on contact. More here.

From the “don’t try this at home” file, Brad Russell shows off what happens when a 2000-volt transformer from a microwave oven is applied to wood painted with sodium bicarbonate. The result is beautiful, tree-like patterns known as Lichtenberg figures.

Coolest Thing introduces us to self-proclaimed mad scientist Lance Greathouse. Among his many builds is a motorized wheelchair that packs a flamethrower on its front end. But he doesn’t just build silly stuff, Lance and the folks from the Wheelchair Labs helps refurbish wheelchairs for people in need.

The Backyard Scientist performs yet another very dangerous experiment, as he pours a bucket of 1500ºF molten aluminum into a volcano made from sand, then ups the spectacle by adding some fireworks to the mix. Yeah, don’t ever try anything this guy does at home.

A while back, The Hacksmith built an impressive replica of Thanos’ dual-ended sword, but it was quite difficult to wield. Now, they’ve put the thing to good use, securely connecting the weapon to a motor, building a cinder block shield around it, and turning it into the world’s largest (and most terrifying) blender.

Anni and Lauri of the Hydraulic Press and Beyond the Press Channels show of one of their deadliest creations, an air-powered launcher that can fling a circular saw blade at breakneck speeds. The sound it makes is both satisfying and terrifying.

Mad inventor Colin Furze was asked by game maker Blizzard to replicate the Rip-Tire, a spinning weapon featured in Overwatch. His first version was entertaining, but not nearly as deadly as the one in the game. So with the help of a 600cc motorcycle engine, he built another version that is far more dangerous.

Juggler Dan Foley recently posted a video of himself tossing about three metal lawn chairs, each with its legs set ablaze. The clip caught the attention of the Ellen show, and they asked him to put together an “audition” clip before his appearance on the talk show. He did the stunt even better this time around.

Rider Johannes Fischbach hopes to someday break the record for the world’s longest mountain bike jump. He recently made an attempt off of a 140-meter (459 ft) ski jump, but unfortunately couldn’t stick the landing. Amazingly, he got up and walked away from this terrifying stunt.

Will from London is like the calm version of Colin Furze, creating his own dangerous and over-the-top contraptions in his UK backyard, but minus the shouting. In this clip, he shows off a wood and PVC roller coaster that uses compressed air to produce 1200 lb. of thrust, and accelerating its sled at up to 4.2G. Build video here.

There are lots of videos out there which show you how to pick basic padlocks, but most of them don’t involve running 900 amps of current through them. This is that video, courtesy of LockPickingLawyer, who connected an ordinary Master lock between the electrodes of a powerful transformer. That sound is terrifying.

If there was ever a build that required a “don’t try this at home” disclaimer, it has to be this insane portable fire vortex generator built by Jairus of All. It uses a series of powerful fans and ductwork to spew forth a giant swirling column of fire.

For his latest video, The Q played with fire. He took the chemicals used to make matchstick heads and reconstituted them to make oversized versions. Then he erected gradually larger and larger sizes to set off a visually-impressive chain reaction. Things heat up around the 3:27 mark.

The Backyard Scientist continues to bring the danger with his latest build, an oversized weapon inspired by Maester Qyburn’s dragon-stopping Scorpion from Game of Thrones. This version is drawn with a motorized winch, and doesn’t seem nearly as powerful, but it still is deadly.

“I’m not gonna ship you guys something you can’t hurt yourself with.” Sufficiently Advanced made a modded NERF gun that shoots electrified darts. His latest version features contact points wide enough to momentarily shock people. Check out the build at 0:58, and the tests at 5:23.

Fortnite‘s Boom Bow shoots shotgun shell-tipped arrows. It sounds ridiculous, but The Backyard Scientist shows how relatively easy it is to actually make the arrows. The resulting projectile doesn’t quite explode theatrically, but it’s loud and lethal.