THE BEST Dangerous

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.

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.

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.

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.

(PG-13: Language) Joel Creates read a comment on fellow maker Michael Reeves’ video that inspired him to create a weapon that fires projectiles with a hardened hot glue exterior, each filled with a nasty and dangerous payload of molten adhesive.

(Loud) When you’re freezing your ass off in the winter in Sweden, one way to keep yourself warm is to strap your butt to a pulsejet powered snowmobile, and fire yourself down an icy straightaway at speeds up to 150 mph. (Thanks Ola Andreas!)

(PG-13: Language) One upside to living in Finland is the ready access to frozen lakes. Lauri and Anni of the Beyond the Press channel decided to take advantage of this by driving a Subaru with tires made from giant circular saw blades onto the ice to see what would happen.

In a video that is the very embodiment of “don’t try this at home,” guitarist Davidlap performs a brief solo while it looks like his hands are ablaze. He created special gloves to protect his hands from injury, and the fire was far enough from the guitar that it didn’t get damaged.

Even if there weren’t a waterfall gushing onto this road in Nepal, we’d think twice before driving down this narrow, twisty, turny path with its sketchy barricades and crumbly bits. We’re just glad we get to watch it from the comfort of our laptop screens.

Given the fact that this weapon uses an electric spark and exploding butane gas to fire a large spherical projectile, American Hacker is very quick to point out that you should NOT try this at home. We agree, but it sure is fun to hear the sound of this thing in action.

If you have any doubts that flying drone near aircraft was a bad idea, watch this footage from the University of Dayton Research Institute, who recently conducted a test to see just how much damage a drone could do to an airplane wing at even a relatively slow flight speed.

Colin Furze shows off an invention so insane that we wouldn’t want to be within 1000 feet when it spins up. Apparently for no reason other than to outdo Simone Giertz’s salad chopping robot, he built a wearable belt that rapidly spins knives around his waist. It draws blood at 9:57.

Watch as a Russian off-road vehicle called a Sherp rolls effortlessly over a partially-frozen lake, seemingly defying physics by not sinking through the softened ice. Apparently it has something to do with the vehicle’s paddle boat tires. See more Sherp antics here.