Match tricks

Factual Questions
1

About 35 years ago my uncle showed me a trick with matches. I can’t find anything on it, so i was hoping someone here had seen it:

He would remove two matches out of book of matches, twist the together in someway, then hold them upside down and light them. As the matches burned, the remaining long ends would split apart. While it did the he would sing "Spanish dancers do the splits, splits, splits" As the matches burned down, the two ends would come back together. It actuall did look like someone doing the splits, then closing their legs.

I was only about 7 or 8 when he showed me this. He’s not around to explain it to me today. have any of you seen this trick?

2

I know this trick… or one like it. I’m not sure if I remember how it was done.
Here’s what I remember, but I don’t know if it’s right…

Tear out 3 paper matches. Hold two of the matches together with the head of the third match being held in between the heads of the first two matches.

like this… where @ is the head of the match…
-----@
     @-----
-----@

Now light the heads of all three matches. This will make them stick together. While they’re burning, grab the lone match as soon as reasonable possible. You will then see the dual matches curl around.

E3

3

Yeah, there was a story you would tell before lighting the matches, (something about Lucy spreading her legs) but I don’t remember it. You don’t twist the matches, you just hold two together at the bottom( the heads facing up) and slide the head of another between the two heads so the bottom of the third match is toward the ceiling. I hope this is making sense. All three heads should be together now. Carefully light the match heads with another match or a lit cigarette. The heads will now be fused together. Carefull turn them upside down and hold the botoom of the third match so the two other matches are facing up. Lucy’s legs will now open and close until you burn your fingers.

4

Damn, someone beat me to it. Much easier to understand with Enright3’s illustration.

5

Anybody else ever make the little match rockets using 3 matches and a bit of foil from a pack of cigs? Those things were cool the way they would leave little smoke trails along the rocket’s trajectory. <goes off looking for some matches>

6

Yes! I make match rockets when I’m teaching my students about conservation of momentum. I always tell them, “Don’t try this at home,” and they get these mischievous grins on their faces.

7

Somethings been missing from my education. How do you make match rockets?

Not that I would ever make one.

8

See, I remembered how to do the leg spreading thing, but I’ve been trying to remember how to do the rocket thing for a long time, and I can remember. I seem to remember covering the head of a match in foil, and using a paper clip as a launch pad. Don’t you also have to somehow make a tunnel or a hole for the fire to go out when lit, so it will propel the mini-rocket forward?

E3

9

Yep, enright3.

You take a match (I’ve just used the kind you tear out of a matchbook because they are lighter, but you could experiment with different types of matches or putting more than one match head in a rocket). Take a straight pin or small sewing needle and lay it lengthwise along the match so that the point of the needle is alongside the head of the match. Then cut a small rectangle of aluminum foil and wrap it around the head of the match (including the needle). Wrap it tightly and mash it down around the sides of the needle. The foil should cover about halfway down the matchstick and should leave enough extra at the head to fold over to make a closed cover on the match head. Then pull the needle out, leaving an empty channel in the foil from the match head back to the “rear” of the rocket. To set it off, you can make a little launch pad using a paper-clip to hold up the head of the match at an angle. Then use another match or one of those long butane lighters to heat up the foil covered match head until it goes off. They can fly around 10 feet or more. They are pretty neat!

WARNING!!! The match rockets sometimes just “explode” on the launch pad or sometimes they take off in unexpected directions. Wear safety goggles! Also, after firing they are extremely hot to the touch (surprise!) so don’t handle them immediately and don’t let them land on carpet, dry grass, etc.

10

All you ever wanted to know about match rockets.
As you can see, there’s lots of different methods for making match rockets, but THE KEY is to keep it LIGHT and wrap it TIGHT.

I noticed that most of the match rocket websites only use one match. WTF?!? Those must be pretty wimpy, I always used to use three! Some of the sites talk about the rocket flying one METER. WTF?!? My match rockets used to fly around 10 feet or more!

My method:
Hold three matchbook matches together so that all three heads touch each other. With a strip of foil about 3/4" wide, TIGHTLY wrap the heads of the three matches in the center of the 3/4" leaving over lap on top. You only need a few wraps of foil, you want enough to create and hold a tight seal. Too much foil will make the rocket too heavy.

Tightly twist the overlap on top into a nosecone shape and keep the twist straight so that it doesn’t throw your rocket off balance. Depending on how successful you were at wrapping tightly, you can now sort of pinch together and/or twist the foil some more to make it even tighter. While still holding the aluminum part tightly betweek your fingers, spread apart the “legs” of the three matches forming a sort of tripod shape. Since you’re still holding the aluminum part of the rocket, the bends that you create in the legs will be AFTER the foil, this is important. Don’t bend the legs out too far, bend them just enough so that the rocket will stand up on the tripod formed by the legs.

In my version of the match rocket, there are no holes made through the foil for exhaust ports. The exhaust port is the space between the matches, thus insuring evenly applied thrust. The bent out shape of the legs has a dual purpose as stabilizers and as a tripod to stand up for launch. Sometimes the rocket will refuse to stand up, or fall over when you begin to light it. In this case, I would use something as a sort of ramp to lean the rocket on. You can use just about anything, even an open book of matches. Obviously, something non-flammable is preferable, but sometimes a flaming launch pad as the rocket takes off is pretty cool too!

Now that the rocket is ready to launch, do the countdown as you hold a flame to the part of the foil where the heads of the matches are. As long as you wrapped tightly enough, the rocket should ignite after about 2-3 seconds of direct flame. When the rocket takes off, grab the nearest glass of liquid so that you can go extinguish your curtains. No, seriously, be careful because the rocket will be very hot, although it cools down pretty quickly. The chance of it starting a fire where it lands are slim, but it is likely to leave some burn marks.

Sometimes, I would grind up some match heads and add some extra fuel to the three matches. This is necessary if the matches you’re using have small heads on them. A little experimentation with slight improvements in materials and techniques can be the difference between a rocket that flies a few feet and one the hits the ceiling or goes across the room. Have fun and don’t burn down the house!