Awesome Fire

By taping together a bunch of roman candles to a PVC handle, a couple of guys from Wisconsin created a weapon that is both spectacular and dangerous for those nearby. It’s even more fun to watch played backwards.

To celebrate the end of 2015, Russian science channel SlivkiShow decided to go out with a bang – or a sparkle. They packed 10,000 sparklers into a single pot, then ignited them all at once. Be sure captions are on.

The infamous Steve-O dropped by The Slow Mo Guys’ headquarters for one of their best episodes yet. The idea was that he’d set his hand on fire, do a backflip and spit flammable oil to pop a hanging balloon, which would then unload water on him. The stunt starts at 2:11.

We’re not sure of the exact physics behind what’s going on here, but the screaming sound that accompanies this raging fire makes it seem like somewhere in Russia, the gates of hell have just opened up. Skip to 0:35.

The latest version of Ellusionist’s wrist-mounted flash gun is more affordable and 50% smaller than the original Pyro. But it’s packed with new features including a USB rechargeable battery, a detachable wrist strap and a burst fire mode.

The Slow Mo Guys used the tried and tested (but still dangerous) method of creating a fire tornado so that they could capture it up close at 1000fps and 2500fps. They should’ve made a miniature town for it to destroy.

Stereokroma’s macro video of incense slowly burning uses a combination of sounds to create the ASMR effect, which produces a “distinct, pleasurable tingling sensation in the head, scalp, back, or peripheral regions of the body.” Best enjoyed with headphones.

Performance artist Cinder Petrichor demonstrates a truly unique puppet she designed and built to look like the mythical fiery bird rising from the ashes. The moving puppet doesn’t self destruct thanks to its wire and Kevlar construction.

For the first of his new Tidbits of Awesome series, Darren Dyk of Beyond Slow Motion slows down what normally happens in a blink of an eye, and puts us up close and personal with the magical substance that is flash paper.

Director of Photography Mitch Martinez shows off his custom made bullet-time rig with the help of fire breathers Mike Icon and Terry Lee Fields II. Mitch’s rig uses 50 Canon DSLRs, though he sometimes swaps one of them with a Red Epic for slow-motion shots.

We’re not sure why you’d need to get rid of 2000 bullets, but this footage shows exactly what happens when you get set off all that ammo using fire. It starts and ends like a bag of popcorn in the microwave, but escalates dramatically in the middle.

Harrowing and immersive video captured by San Bernardino County firefighters as they fought their way through a blaze which damaged two homes in Victorville, California. Their efforts paid off in limiting the spread to more homes.

Jamie O’Brien looks like a badass as he surfs the daunting waves of Tahiti’s Teahupo’o, with his wetsuit lit on fire. We suppose if anything went wrong he could just fall down and dowse himself, but then the massive wave might get him.

The slang term “Chinese Fire Drill” has been used to describe chaos. But this is anything but that. Check out these images captured by Xinhua at the Nanhu Vocational School’s annual fire drill, in which students must brave a fiery gauntlet.

We recently saw carsandwater’s failed attempt to destroy a hockey puck with his almighty red hot sphere. Now he’s brought out the big guns – engulfing the puck in thermite, which burns at 4000ºF. Will the mighty puck surrender?

LifeHackChan shows off a neat party trick you can do with a paraffin wax candle. Apparently, a small amount of the wax that burns off in its smoke is still flammable, so you can relight the candle without aiming for the wick.

Stuntmen Enrico Schoeman and André de Kock pulled off this death-defying record breaking feat in which they drove their motorcycle through a 395 foot-long tunnel of fire – and this is after they were injured on previous attempts.

(PG-13 Language) A guy and his dad were out in the yard when they had an idea. Take the leaf blower they were using and point it directly into the fiery belly of a chiminea. The result – a fire-belching mini volcano. Mom was not as amused.

While the Mythbusters already tested the flamethrower vs. fire extinguisher stunt seen in this music video, these firefighters show how a powerful water cannon can be used to douse such a flame quickly.

A chemistry teacher demonstrates a really cool property of liquid methane by pouring the rapidly-extinguishing substance onto the floor while afire. We’re not sure how safe this is, but it sure looks cool. Original video here.

Physics and illusion tinkerer Brusspup compiled this assortment of tricks, hacks, experiments and generally fun things you can do with fire. Proceed with great caution if you decide to try any of these yourself.

There’s just something immensely satisfying about watching 5,000 matches go up in flames. YouTuber David Hill says he took over 10 hours to painstakingly glue together his creation, only to destroy it in about 10 seconds.

The dangerous tradition of Dashuhua has been practiced by blacksmiths as part of the Lantern festival for over 500 years. It involves throwing scraps of molten iron towards the bricks of the city gate, resulting in a fiery visual spectacle.