In this vintage edition of How To Start A Fire, we start fires. It’s been a snowy mess out here lately, and any scientist will tell you the opposite of snow is fire. Look it up. Actually don’t. Just take the word of this 1925 advertisement for it.

This brilliant scientific invention appeared on the cover of Science and Invention magazine. Inventor Harry E. Hale put forth the idea of spreading calcium carbide on snow and just setting it on fire. For an idea of what that looks like, here’s a YouTube clip:

Somehow seems unsafe. However, Harry also suggested a machine to spread the chemical, reminiscent of a lawn fertilizer spreader, which just seems like it would toss stuff everywhere. Even the magazine recognizes this:

“Great care must be exercised in sprinkling calcium carbide upon snow, so that when the gas is evolved and ignited, it will not set fire to shrubbery, trees or the house itself. Under no conditions should such a snow remover be used when a gale is blowing, and the individual drawing the mechanism over the road should always see to it that he heads into any slight breeze which may be blowing, so that his own clothes will not be ignited.”

You know what, we think we’ll stick with shoveling.

What Sparks Our Fire: Not sparking ourselves on fire.

How scared are you that someone is going to try this now?