# MacGyver Challenge: What could you re-use old zippo's for? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 13, 2004, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/macgyver-challenge-what-could-you-re-use-old-zippos-for/239771 "2004-04-13T13:41:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2004, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/macgyver-challenge-what-could-you-re-use-old-zippos-for/239771/1 "2004-04-13T13:41:42Z")
[ReadyMade Magazine](http://by10fd.bay10.hotmail.msn.com/cgi-bin/getmsg?msg=MSG1081482586.20&start=19377&len=15370&imgsafe=n&curmbox=F000000001&a=5b8a7d382eed418cd112a789f58da5d1#challenge) is possibly my new most favoritist magazine. They have a challenge every issue to reuse old stuff in a new way. Old records melted down to become bowls. Phone books used to be a tree seedling starter. Some are very clever. It is always interesting. In fact, I wish it was a bigger section in the mag. This months challenge is how to re-use disposable lighters. This just makes me draw a blank. I thought some dopers here might have some ideas. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2004, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/macgyver-challenge-what-could-you-re-use-old-zippos-for/239771/2 "2004-04-13T13:45:51Z")
Oh, the contest ended on the 11th, but it doesn’t mean we can’t dream. ---
**Author:** ![Anonymous\_Coward](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/94ad74/32.png) [@Anonymous\_Coward](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anonymous_Coward)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2004, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/macgyver-challenge-what-could-you-re-use-old-zippos-for/239771/3 "2004-04-13T13:47:12Z")
Zippos aren’t disposable lighters. A properly maintained zippo should last for a lifetime. I assume you mean things like Bic lighters? ---
**Author:** ![Shaggarito](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dec6dc/32.png) [@Shaggarito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shaggarito)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2004, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/macgyver-challenge-what-could-you-re-use-old-zippos-for/239771/4 "2004-04-13T13:57:11Z")
I bet MacGyver could make a portable flame-thrower out of an old zippo. I don’t know how, but I’m sure he could. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2004, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/macgyver-challenge-what-could-you-re-use-old-zippos-for/239771/5 "2004-04-13T14:04:25Z")
Yeah, I meant Bic. Being a non-smoker, I just assumed zippo was a generic catch all name for lighters. My bad. ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2004, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/macgyver-challenge-what-could-you-re-use-old-zippos-for/239771/6 "2004-04-13T14:12:12Z")
I’d use it to make my zero gravity flying titanium badger. 🙂 Oh wait were you joking? ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2004, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/macgyver-challenge-what-could-you-re-use-old-zippos-for/239771/7 "2004-04-13T15:48:01Z")
I’m a non-smoker as well, but I love Zippos - they’re neat, durable, and make a fun metal clicking sound with the top. Designed to be as windproof as possible, IIRC. Old Bic lighters, hmm… maybe if you could get the lighter mechanism out and drill a hole in the bottom of each, you could use them as large “beads” for those hanging bead “curtains” (really just long strings used to decorate open doorways). ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2004, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/macgyver-challenge-what-could-you-re-use-old-zippos-for/239771/8 "2004-04-13T16:09:53Z")
You could cut off the metal top and use the bottoms for legs for a dollhouse parsons table. ---
**Author:** ![Tikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5daacb/32.png) [@Tikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tikki)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2004, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/macgyver-challenge-what-could-you-re-use-old-zippos-for/239771/9 "2004-04-13T17:20:22Z")
Hmmm, I bet they wouldn’t leak for quite a while. You could duct-tape several hundred into a vest shape and have your own personal floatation device. How’s that? MacGyverish enough? ---
**Author:** ![Tikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5daacb/32.png) [@Tikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tikki)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2004, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/macgyver-challenge-what-could-you-re-use-old-zippos-for/239771/10 "2004-04-13T17:24:21Z")
On second thought, MacGyver probably wouldn’t resort to duct tape. That’s for amatures. Gotta come up with something better… ---
**Author:** ![Bruce\_Daddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Bruce\_Daddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bruce_Daddy)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2004, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/macgyver-challenge-what-could-you-re-use-old-zippos-for/239771/11 "2004-04-13T17:25:11Z")
> [@Shaggarito](#): > > I bet MacGyver could make a portable flame-thrower out of an old zippo. I don’t know how, but I’m sure he could. It’s actually not that hard. Take one of the plastic lighters that have “square” bodies and take the metal guard off the front, where the flame comes out. You can then turn up the flame, take the plastic “wrench” off the gear, put it back on at the low setting and then turn it up again. Repeat. You can get that sucker to shoot a flame 2 feet long. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2004, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/macgyver-challenge-what-could-you-re-use-old-zippos-for/239771/12 "2004-04-13T19:07:47Z")
The only thing I can come up with is taking off the metal doo-hickey thing and make them into tiny little vases. Perhaps glue a wad of them together for more stability. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2004, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/macgyver-challenge-what-could-you-re-use-old-zippos-for/239771/13 "2004-04-13T19:20:52Z")
Seen them in South America. You fill it with a syringe and it squirts water very far! I actually have one. I never really thought about how it works. Where does the pressure come from? Maybe this is how it works: Remove the bottom. Install a small air bladder (ballon or similar). Reinstall bottom with glue. Fill with syringe, while holding the lever down. Air compresses and when you go to offer someone a light and flick the lever, he gets a blast of water (or urine, if you prefer 😉 ) in the eye. Hilarity ensues, violence follows. I might have to go dig mine out of the box it has been languising in for over a decade and see if it still works and how it does it.