Fire

Getting rid of weeds is a pain. Pluck them, and they come back. Kill them with chemicals, and the ground is poisoned for other plants. These organic corn farmers demonstrate a much more reliable, chemical-free, and downright spectacular method to clear the ground – FIRE!

Aerogel has some amazing properties. It’s insanely lightweight, and is an incredible insulator. Recently, Derek Muller of Veritasium put this to the test, by standing behind a blanket infused with silica aerogel being hit by a Boring Company Not a Flamethrower. Now we’d like to see the same test with a serious flamethrower.

Always be prepared with Überleben’s survival tool that can help you quickly start a fire. Its comprised of a mini ferrocerium (fire steel) rod and serrated ring scraper which can make flaming hot sparks in any weather or at any altitude. Comes with a 34″ paracord lanyard.

Radiate is a campfire in a tin. It’s fuel source is recycled paper briquettes coated in recycled soy wax. It lights up easily and can be snuffed out just by placing the lid over it. You can even light it up again if it’s not all used up. Each tin lasts 3 to 5 hours.

The Q decided that ordinary matches weren’t big enough for him, so he went ahead and made five giant-sized matches out of wood, rope, and a homemade mix of incendiary chemicals like the ones on a real match head. To complete the set, he built a wooden matchbox with a sandpaper striker on its side.

These firestarter rods include a few bonus features which could come in handy in an emergency. In addition to a magnesium rod and striker tool, they’ve got a built-in compass and whistle, and hang on a length of 450lb. paracord. Comes two to a pack, so you’ll always have a spare. Available in several colors, including glow-in-the-dark.

Ohio artist Melissa Crisp creates these incredibly cool steel fire pits which feature intricately cut scenes of nature. Each one creates a dramatic silhouette when a fire is lit. They’re built for wood, but can be converted to burn gas. We especially love the Phoenix Rising design.

Woodworker Lignum has made some pretty cool furniture over the years, and this build is definitely among his coolest. He created this table by laminating together blocks of wood then scorching it with a torch to give it the look that a fire burnt its insides out. We imagine it smells like a campfire too.

Bring the warmth of the outdoors into any room with Domestic Objects‘ plush campfire. The 17-piece set includes three felt logs, nine squishy rocks, a colorful felt fire, and two oversize marshmallows on roasting sticks, packaged in a drawstring canvas bag. It may be designed for kids, but we think anyone can enjoy them.

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.

Give yourself a fighting chance of starting a fire when you’re out camping. This 4-piece kit packs an all-weather magnesium bar and friction tool for getting a clean spark, then gives it some extra oxygen with a collapsible bellows tube. You’ll also get an aluminum alloy whistle that can produce 120db, and a zippered carrying case.

The S created his version of the old grade school volcano science experiment, but replaced the baking soda and vinegar with matchsticks and fire, resulting in a dangerous and spectacular fireball. It goes without saying, but don’t try this at home.

The image of fire that most of us have is the tip of a candle or a fireplace flickering, buy there are many other types of flame. Enjoy some variety in this clip from Yan Liang’s Envisioning Chemistry and Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s awesomely named Combustion Lab.

Offering up 18 times the blaze of this fiery experiment, the guys from Awesome Universe filled a tray with 90,000 individual matches, then set the whole mess on fire. They could have at least roasted some marshmallows over it before it burned out.

“Caution! Do not try it in the house.” The warning message from YouTuber The S is quite the understatement, as he shows us just what happens when you build a cannon entirely out of matches, fill its chamber with thousands of match heads, then light its fuse.

Bubble-blowing expert Dustin Skye shows off a really slick trick, in which he blows a soap bubble, fills it with butane, uses his breath to start a vortex, then lights it on fire, producing a tiny fire tornado. More here.

Steel wool is really useful for scrubbing and cleaning. But it’s also incredibly flammable. The guys from The King of Random decided to play with fire, and see how it might react if a lit piece of the shredded metal was dropped into a cup of styrofoam filled with liquid oxygen. Original video 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.

One of the worst things that a firefighter can encounter is a backdraft – which happens when a fire has almost exhausted all oxygen, and then a door or window is opened, causing a violent explosion. The Slow Mo Guys captured 4K footage of this terrifying phenomenon.

While fiery Norse ships are normally reserved for viking funerals, we’ll make an exception for this truly awesome handmade fire pit from sculptor Trevor McIntire of ImagineMetalArt. It’s made from 18 ga. sheet steel and measures about 39″ long x 16″ wide.

Pull Start Fire is designed to be stupidly easy to use. All you have to do is pile wood around it and pull its string. It works even in 200+ mph winds, light rain, and with wet wood. It burns for over 30 minutes, more than enough to get a fire going.

You can easily make a fire tornado. But if you don’t want to take the risk, Höfats’ Spin seems to be a great alternative. It uses bioethanol fuel for a nearly smokeless and odorless spinning flame. The optional base and pole provide a variety of display options.

Artist Steven Richter follows up on his epic Nazi facemelt sculpture with another iconic hothead. This time, he crafted a clay skull, wrapped it with a papier mache Nicolas Cage face, then burned it off to reveal the Ghost Rider beneath his skin.

Artist Danny Shervin precisely arranges granules of gunpowder on canvas or wood, then sets it on fire to create burnt-in pointillist art. You can buy originals and prints of his work on his website.

Instructables contributor Mikeasaurus shows off his ridiculously dangerous looking creation, a skateboard which leaves a fiery trail in its wake. It drips out a small amount of fuel triggered by a foot-controlled switch, and ignites it with an electric sparker. Full build log here.

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.

Just because you have a fancy fire suppression system in place doesn’t mean it will work when you need it. To ensure their system is fully functional, the Fort Indiantown Gap Army Reserve switched on the extinguisher system in their helicopter maintenance facility.

BrainfooTV shows us how to make nifty little rockets using ordinary household items like aluminum foil and strike-anywhere matches. They fire as far as 60 feet, and are surprisingly stable and accurate. The tailfins aren’t required, but they do make them look cooler.

Based on the same concept as the Pyro Board, The Blazing Beats is a two-axis version of a Rubens’ Tube, a device which emits variable heights of flame based on sound waves traveling through it. The result is a gas fireplace that dances to the beat of your music.

Duel with your friends while you roast up some tasty treats with RoastyzToastyz whimsical stainless steel tools that look like swords. Each one includes a marshmallow tip, with hot dog and tart roasting tips sold separately. A lightsaber hilt is also available.