Flash-fire Sigils

1 can aerosol hairspray
1 lighter (preferrably the long kind used to light barbecues or pilot lights)
your imagination

Step One: Use the hairspray to draw something on the wall, ala graffiti.
Step Two: Use the lighter to apply flame to hairspray. It will go up in a brief, but lovely display, and if done right will take the shape of what you drew.

SAFETY PROCEDURES: Be careful of doing this near other flammable materials. Best done on a concrete or brick wall. The hairspray will drip down the wall, so keep flammable material away from the junction of the floor/ground and wall. Do NOT use a cigarette lighter.

NOTE: If you are confident in your throwing skills/have a fire extinguisher and first aid kit handy, matches may be substituted for a lighter.

Towering Inferno (I learned this one in my high school chemistry clbum):

Items needed: plastic tub or bucket, propane tank, rubber hose, dish soap

– take the tub/bucket and make a small hole in the bottom, slightly smaller than the diameter of your rubber hose

– push the hose into the hole, making sure it expands enough to prevent leaks

– attach the other end of the tube to a propane tank

– fill the tub with a water/dish soap mixture (you may have to experiment to get the right balance)

– open the valve on the propane tank slightly, letting propane bubble into the tub/bucket

If done correctly, you’ll create a tower of propane-filled soap bubbles above the hole in the tub/bucket. This tower can then be moved (if the soap/water mixture is good) to wherever you’d like it. When ready, put a lit match/lighter/etc at the base of the tower, and you’ll get a fireball that shoots up the tower’s height and into the air.

If you’re somewhere with tall ceilings, little clutter, and good ventilation, this can be done indoors; otherwise, outside is a better plan.

BrainpanSonata Posted:

That one’s awesome. I saw it on Mythbusters.

My high school chem teacher was awesome like that. He got in trouble for putting contact explosive on the doorknob to our clbumroom.

Sneaky27 Posted:

Get a large (5lb or larger) coffee can, a votive candle, chopsticks (2), an industrial coffee filter (the extra large one used in restaurants), a flour sifter and one large container of powdered creamer.

Place the candle in the bottom of the coffee can with a hole in the side so you can light it (also for ventilation). Place the chopsticks on top of the can in an X shape and lay the coffee filter over the top. Position the candle so that the flame isn’t directly underneath a chopstick, you want the heat to reach the filter. Using the sifter, sift the creamer onto the filter over the candle. Light the candle and gtfo. At least 100ft (approx 35m) as the resultant fireball should be large. Make sure to do this in a large open field far from anything of value and with adequate fire protection present.

I love this one. I used to do it all the time when I was younger; when I heard a local pizza place had caught fire because of flour dust, I just had to try it for myself. Log in to see images!

Alternative to the filter: get a long piece of rubber tubing and a poultry baster. Make a hole in the base of the can, put flour around the base of the lit candle, attach tube to the hole, attach baster to the tube. Squeeze the baster bulb HARD (try jumping on it), and you’ll get the same effect.