# What's your favorite way of (literally) playing with fire? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 15, 2010, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-way-of-literally-playing-with-fire/536211 "2010-04-15T14:21:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-way-of-literally-playing-with-fire/536211/1 "2010-04-15T14:21:23Z")
First of all, I got permission from **Wombat** before starting this thread. I love to burn pine needles individually. Just take one and stick it into a candle’s flame. It’s cool to watch and it smells good. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-way-of-literally-playing-with-fire/536211/2 "2010-04-15T14:32:12Z")
The old “pour a packet of non-dairy creamer over a lit lighter” trick. Big, impressive ball of flame goes poof, like magic. I did it once for some friends in the high school cafeteria, then BS’d my way out of punishment when a teacher saw it (I said it was our last match). Flour does the same thing. If I’m ever telling a ghost story around a campfire, I’ll be sure to have something powdery in-hand to toss on the fire at a dramatic moment. (Assuming Smokey’s fire danger sign is in the blue.) ---
**Author:** ![LionelHutz405](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lionelhutz405/32/536_2.png) [@LionelHutz405](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LionelHutz405)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-way-of-literally-playing-with-fire/536211/3 "2010-04-15T15:40:03Z")
Blowing out a candle, then lighting the smoke. The flame travels down the smoke trail and re-lights the candle. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-way-of-literally-playing-with-fire/536211/4 "2010-04-15T15:44:38Z")
Two things: Gallon plastic milk jugs. Find somewhere to hang them and light them up. As the melting plastic drips down, it makes a cool ‘vrrrippp’ sound. Bamboo. I have a couple of acres of bamboo forest that I plan to cut down and burn sometime in the next year or so. As the air in the bamboo joints expands, they explode, sorta like popcorn. When you have a big enough pile of it, it’s almost like fireworks going off. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-way-of-literally-playing-with-fire/536211/5 "2010-04-15T16:00:30Z")
We have a corner of a horse pasture where we stack fallen tree limbs, dried decorative grasses, etc, etc. When the pile becomes too high to toss new tinder on to the top we light it. Whooooooooooooooooooooooosh. ETA: on a smaller scale, I like to take orange peels and squeeze them to squirt the flammable stuff onto a flame. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-way-of-literally-playing-with-fire/536211/6 "2010-04-15T16:09:16Z")
Burning leaves. I live in a small island of unincorporated township surrounded by your standard village/town/city set-up. Since we’re not under the restrictions of the city code, we can burn leaves on our property. It’s fun to burn the leaves and it’s fun to watch cars slow down from down the block as they see the leaf fires burning down the street. Once I had someone call the fire department on me. They sent a truck around, told me what I was doing was legal and rolled their eyes at busy-bodies driving down the main road who see us on the side streets and think they’re going to “get us” by wasting the fire department’s time. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-way-of-literally-playing-with-fire/536211/7 "2010-04-15T16:12:41Z")
Flick a lighter at old jeans/fluffy socks/wool jackets/etc. The flame dances thinly across the surface and goes out(usually). ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-way-of-literally-playing-with-fire/536211/8 "2010-04-15T16:30:32Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > Gallon plastic milk jugs. Find somewhere to hang them and light them up. As the melting plastic drips down, it makes a cool ‘vrrrippp’ sound. We used plastic laundry bags, the clear ones that cover your shirts on a hanger. Tied knots every foot down its length, tied onto a hanger and lit at the bottom with a pan of water underneath. _zzzzzzzziiiiiiiiiiiiLLLLLLLLLCCCCCCCCChhhhhhhhhhh…PPPAAAHHH!_ ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-way-of-literally-playing-with-fire/536211/9 "2010-04-15T16:34:27Z")
Cupping my hand over the leg of my jeans and filling it up with butane from a disposable lighter. Then flicking the lighter and watching all the blue flame. Flash paper is extraordinarily cool too. ---
**Author:** ![runcible\_spoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9fc29f/32.png) [@runcible\_spoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/runcible_spoon)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-way-of-literally-playing-with-fire/536211/10 "2010-04-15T16:40:41Z")
Filling my fist with butane, and lighting it. Then you open your hand and WHOOSH! Although, I’m also quite partial to just a simple campfire, especially once it burns down to coals. ---
**Author:** ![PatriotGrrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9dc877/32.png) [@PatriotGrrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotGrrrl)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-way-of-literally-playing-with-fire/536211/11 "2010-04-15T16:49:44Z")
Do spud guns count? ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-way-of-literally-playing-with-fire/536211/12 "2010-04-15T17:00:01Z")
There’s something very satifying about poking at a campfire with a stick. Now we fight over who holds the TV remote, in olden days they fought over who held the stick. Take a big ol’ plastic trash bag, twist it up into a “rope,” then tie a series of knots several inches apart. Fix one end onto a tree branch (with string, or poke onto a twig) and light the other (hanging down) end. Burns its way up the bag with an interesting flame which changes character going through the knots. Easier to appreciate when intoxicated. ---
**Author:** ![Wallenstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5a626/32.png) [@Wallenstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallenstein)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-way-of-literally-playing-with-fire/536211/13 "2010-04-15T17:02:14Z")
Campfires all the way - bushcraft TV - I could sit and watch the flames for hours. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-way-of-literally-playing-with-fire/536211/14 "2010-04-15T17:09:13Z")
As a kid I used to pour alcohol on my hand and light it aflame. I’m lucky to be alive. I also used to love to hold the lighter button down until my hand fills with the fumes, and then light the fire ball. ---
**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 15, 2010, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-way-of-literally-playing-with-fire/536211/15 "2010-04-15T17:33:18Z")
> [@LionelHutz405](#): > > Blowing out a candle, then lighting the smoke. > The flame travels down the smoke trail and re-lights the candle. :eek: I so have to try this. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-way-of-literally-playing-with-fire/536211/16 "2010-04-15T17:46:04Z")
I use the firebox side of my smoker to heat silver coins I then beat into rough shapes to make jewelry out of. Sort of multitasking with fire. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-way-of-literally-playing-with-fire/536211/17 "2010-04-15T17:57:16Z")
When we go camping, I usually pull out a bottle of 100-proof schnapps when we’re sitting around the fire. We drink about half of it and the rest gets spit into the campfire, creating rather impressive balls of alcoholic flames. ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-way-of-literally-playing-with-fire/536211/18 "2010-04-15T18:29:00Z")
Back in my juggling days it was fun to juggle flaming torches. I’ve been as close to thermite as I care to be - chemistry class and then later in college a fellow I knew was doing his PhD on a process to repair train rails in place, basically clamp a form around the cracked rail with a big funnel full of thermite on top. Ignite, it pours white-hot molten iron into the form and makes a seamless repair without having to remove the rail or dig anything up. Wait for it to cool, then break the forms off with a sledge (made of some kind of clay or ceramic that resists the incredibly high heat). Nowadays…cooking, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-way-of-literally-playing-with-fire/536211/19 "2010-04-15T18:33:40Z")
In basic training it was common to get into trouble for loose threads on your uniform - fastest way to get rid of them? A lighter. It was pretty common to be minding your own business when someone flicks at bic at your pocket, near your chin to burn away any stragglers. It can be unnerving ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-way-of-literally-playing-with-fire/536211/20 "2010-04-15T21:04:31Z")
Back when I partied more often and would get to play bartender, I’d have some fun making [Blue Blazers](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bQnMAhnlBg). But tequila wasn’t really my thing so I’d make the [scotch version.](http://www.esquire.com/features/food-drink/blueblazer1107) Warning: do not try this after you yourself have started drinking. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-way-of-literally-playing-with-fire/536211.md?page=2)