It was during my time as a
student at The University of
Birmingham that I discovered
Pringles.
They made a
tasty snack, which my mate and me would
enjoy whilst watching late night
TV or
playing
PlayStation games. Usually
Tekken 2.
More importantly than their value as a foodstuff, Pringles come in a fantastic piece of
packaging. A cardboard tube around a foot long, lined with substantial foil, one end of the
container is metal and at the other is a removable plastic cap. It is specially designed to
have a diameter large enough to allow entry for the hands of children and female adults, but
too narrow for an adult male to penetrate. This forced us to tip the contents into a dish and
eat them from there. However, it seemed a real shame to simply discard the packaging.
Another use had to be found.
Fortune was on our side as we both knew of another feature of that household that went unused.
It was time to combine the two items so they could finally realise their full potential. We
approached the gas cooker, experimented for an hour or two and came up with this.
Equipment: 1 box of matches, one Pringles tube, 1 gas cooker. 1 fire extinguisher recommended.
Note: This is easiest with two people.
Step 1: Assess the value of your life and the lives of those around you. Make an informed decision
as to how much you are willing to risk them. This could be dangerous.
Step 2: Make a small hole through the side of the Pringles tube around an inch from the metal base.
This should have a similar diameter to a biro.
Step 3: Prop open all doors between you and the outside world so you can get out of the building quickly.
Step 4: Remove the plastic lid from the Pringles tube.
Step 5: Invert the tube so that the open end covers one of the hobs on your gas cooker.
Step 6: Place your thumb over the hole by the other end of the tube and keep it there.
Step 7: Turn on the gas supply to the covered hob. Do not light it.
Step 8: Wait for around five seconds for the tube to fill with gas and then turn off the supply.
Step 9: Quickly replace the plastic lid, keeping the tube inverted until it is secured.
Step 10: Recommended, though not essential: Take the gas filled tube outside.
Step 11: Hold the tube horizontally at arm's length with the small hole pointing down and
with the plastic lid pointing away from people, animals and fragile objects.
Step 12: Remove thumb from hole.
Step 13: Strike a match and hold it to the hole.
That's all there is to it, really. We had a lot of fun experimenting with the size of the hole.
We found that if you made the hole too small the gas could not burn fast enough and you'd get a
poor effect. It would not create enough force to blow the lid off the tube, but would just burn
outwards through the small hole. When we made the hole too large we got a similar effect and a
large flame out of the small hole. At one specific size, which we failed to recreate, it actually
whistled and threw sparks out.
However, when you get it right you can expect to get a small explosion that blows the plastic lid
off the end of the tube and produces a flame up to two feet long.
We never hurt ourselves or broke anything doing this, even when we started off indoors, but I
would advise you take care if you decide to try it yourself.