# Is there any reason I couldn't try shovelling the sidewalk with a flamethrower? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 20, 2005, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-i-couldnt-try-shovelling-the-sidewalk-with-a-flamethrower/336397 "2005-12-20T02:44:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2005, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-i-couldnt-try-shovelling-the-sidewalk-with-a-flamethrower/336397/21 "2005-12-20T14:48:11Z")
What about a frickin’ laser beam? ---
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2005, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-i-couldnt-try-shovelling-the-sidewalk-with-a-flamethrower/336397/22 "2005-12-20T15:58:24Z")
> [@Patty O'Furniture](#): > > But then you end up with a puddle surrounded by snow. How do you get rid of the water now? It won’t be as deep as the snow was (1:8) but come nightfall it’ll freeze into a sheet of ice. Sump pump. Neighbor across the street’s house is lower than the street. He had a big patch of 2"-3" of water at the bottom of his driveway. Other neighbors were trying to snow shovel the water to the street. It was absurdly arduous and ineffective. I brought over a spare sump pump from my cellar, hooked it up to an outlet in his garage and put the hose to the street. Quite soon, all the water was in the street. ---
**Author:** ![Crandolph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7cd45c/32.png) [@Crandolph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crandolph)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2005, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-i-couldnt-try-shovelling-the-sidewalk-with-a-flamethrower/336397/23 "2005-12-20T19:49:43Z")
A friend of mine actually did this, on sidewalk in the city. Unfortunately I wasn’t there to see it. It worked well according to him, and when a neighbor asked him if she saw him clearing the snow with a flamethrower a few weeks later he replied “What, flamethrower? Me? Ridiculous!” ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2005, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-i-couldnt-try-shovelling-the-sidewalk-with-a-flamethrower/336397/24 "2005-12-20T23:55:36Z")
> [@Chairman Pow](#): > > Calling the city would get the same reaction that I get for things like, drug dealers, people breaking into cars and nesting brids attacking passersby (out of illegaly maintained trees no less), namely, “why don’t you just walk to work/home another way?” Then your problem is with the city services, and the elected officials of the city. Why do you put up with that? The way to fix that is by electing someone else. And I can tell you from experience, poor constituent service is a big factor in local officials being replaced in office. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-i-couldnt-try-shovelling-the-sidewalk-with-a-flamethrower/336397/25 "2005-12-21T00:01:17Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > What about a frickin’ laser beam? Ya mean like a 1920’s style death ray? ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-i-couldnt-try-shovelling-the-sidewalk-with-a-flamethrower/336397/26 "2005-12-21T00:34:47Z")
> [@Chairman Pow](#): > > The flamethrower was idle speculation. Calling the city would get the same reaction that I get for things like, drug dealers, people breaking into cars and nesting brids attacking passersby (out of illegaly maintained trees no less), namely, “why don’t you just walk to work/home another way?” Seems to me that a flamethrower would solve all of those problems too. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2011, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-i-couldnt-try-shovelling-the-sidewalk-with-a-flamethrower/336397/27 "2011-11-20T01:16:34Z")
Why not ask about it in this thread :[Ask the professional snow removal guy.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=630784) ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2011, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-i-couldnt-try-shovelling-the-sidewalk-with-a-flamethrower/336397/28 "2011-11-20T01:30:38Z")
> [@jasg](#): > > Why not ask about it in this thread :[Ask the professional snow removal guy.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=630784) Are you aware that this thread is almost six years old? Not fresh by even zombie standards. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2011, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-i-couldnt-try-shovelling-the-sidewalk-with-a-flamethrower/336397/29 "2011-11-20T01:42:53Z")
Nope, missed that :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2011, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-i-couldnt-try-shovelling-the-sidewalk-with-a-flamethrower/336397/30 "2011-11-20T07:58:02Z")
Where are the snows of yesteryear? Flamethrowers got 'em. ---
**Author:** ![2gigch1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/2gigch1/32/3313_2.png) [@2gigch1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2gigch1)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2011, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-i-couldnt-try-shovelling-the-sidewalk-with-a-flamethrower/336397/31 "2011-11-20T09:42:24Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > Are you aware that this thread is almost six years old? Not fresh by even zombie standards. A well refrigerated zombie, such as one stuck in the snow, can stay fresh for millennia. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-i-couldnt-try-shovelling-the-sidewalk-with-a-flamethrower/336397.md?page=1)