Have You Seen This? Starting a fire with a sandwich bag

(Grant Thompson - "The King of Random," YouTube)


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Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes

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THE GREAT OUTDOORS — I’m not exceptionally outdoorsy.

I go on walks (yes, even before Pokémon Go! was released) and camp approximately one weekend a year. I live on a mountainside near an excellent trail system, but don’t hike as often as I should.

It’s safe to say that being a survivalist is a bit beyond my reach.

However, a video recently posted to YouTube by Grant Thompson, the self-appointed “King of Random” is enough to make me believe I could start a fire with little available to me other than some wooded surroundings and a simple sandwich baggie.

Thompson shows how filling a small plastic back with water and twisting it to create a sphere can be used as a magnifying glass. Using some crushed up dry bark as a fire starter, Thompson expertly gets the bag to concentrate heat enough to create an ember before transferring that to a nest of tinder made of dry grass and then finally onto a pit with kindling ready. The whole process is very interesting and the short video makes it seem very doable.

Now, so many things would have to go wrong before I needed to employ the contingency plan of using a bag filled with water to light a fire (including being far enough away from civilization in the first place), but it’s one of those little knowledge nuggets that’s unlikely to leave my brain anytime soon.

As always, be sure to practice proper fire safety, including making sure fires are allowed in the area where you try it, having proper supervision for young ones and ensuring any fire you start is completely out once you leave the area.

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Angie H. Treasure

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