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Posts Tagged “

Fire

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retromodo

What Happens When You Burn a Magnesium NeXTCube Computer Case?

If you are old enough to remember, NeXTCubes were high-end workstation computers built in the late '80s and early '90s that featured a die-cast magnesium case. Magnesium was an attractive metal because it was strong and light—but as any high school chemistry student with a penchant for pyromania can tell you, magnesium burns with a brilliant white light. Naturally, this lead some to wonder what would happen if you set one ablaze.

More »

7:40 PM on Tue Jun 3 2008
By Sean Fallon
13,581 views, 26 comments

Latest by Worf: Definitely retro. Even Slashdot had the story dating back to the turn of the millenium! more »

tasers

Policeman Tases Guy, Sets His Pants on Fire

Ok, we know bad things can happen when the general public use tasers, but cops tasing a guy and setting him on fire? No... really? Apparently the 31-year-old in question was causing a disturbance in an apartment in Hamilton, Ontario, recently, and three police officers attended. Whatever happened after that, the police ended up firing a taser at him. Unfortunately when the high-voltage device went off some sort of flammable object in his pants waistband caught fire. He sustained burns to his hands and thigh, and had to be taken to hospital. Ouch. Someone at some point must've started saying "Liar! Liar! Pants..." [Danger Room]

1:40 PM on Wed Apr 23 2008
By Kit Eaton
17,478 views, 46 comments

Latest by Kit Eaton: @fastmike: "the whole planet is made of widdlyweep sir... I'm made of widdlyweep" :) more »

retromodo

Robot Shopping Cart Cruises Streets, Bursts into Flames

Why the hell is a dismembered pair of legs walking around willy nilly with a shopping cart? I'll tell you why...To draw awareness to homeless people, and the cutthroat world of cart-pushing. It was designed in 1993 by a college student who thought the concept of using robots for hazardous jobs could be applied to the most dangerous job of all, being homeless. The student rigged the cart together using a bunch of bike chains and a couple car batteries. We're not sure it serves any practical purpose—might be better if there were hands to put things in the cart. One thing the artist definitely got wrong though: homeless people do not spontaneously burst into flames. At least not in New York, they don't. [GizmoGarden via Make]

9:00 PM on Mon Apr 14 2008
By Benny Goldman
3,641 views, 31 comments

Latest by Earthslide: Suicide bombers on strike now? more »

fireplace

Safretti's Latest Wall-Mounted Gaya Fireplace Looks Like a Flaming Mouth

Safretti's latest in their line of wall-mounted fireplaces for urban living spaces without proper wood burning ventilation looks a lot like a mouth. A mouth much like the mouths Seth MacFarlane likes to draw on inanimate objects on Family Guy, which is why we picture this thing spewing obscenities, as well as 7.1kW of heat from its alcohol-fueld fire hole. The bad news? That 7.1kW doesn't really measure up against a real fireplace, so this is more for a mouth motif decoration than practical heating. [Safretti via Tuvie via MocoLoco via DVice]

6:30 PM on Mon Mar 17 2008
By Jason Chen
5,700 views, 13 comments

Latest by fastm3driver: @jbhitter24: Use mine all the time. It makes me feel rich! And also warm. more »

safety

Japan Develops a Fire Alarm that Sprays the Smell of Horseradish

In an innovative solution to the problem of deaf people not being able to hear fire alarms, Japanese researchers have developed one that sprays the strong smell of horseradish, ensuring that everybody with a functioning sense of smell wakes up. In tests, it successfully, silently woke up 13 out of 14 people, with deaf subjects much more receptive to the alarm. Combine this with an audible alarm and a small robot that goes around slapping people in the face and you've got yourself one foolproof fire alarm. Wait a minute. If they can smell horseradish, can't they also smell the fire? [WCTV via Boing Boing]

11:30 AM on Sun Mar 9 2008
By Adam Frucci
4,142 views, 37 comments

Latest by n/a: So Japan's essentially found that using pepper spray is effective in waking people in the event of a fire? Wouldn't that create a whole new problem? more »

fire starter

Exploding iPod Nano Starts Non-Nano Sized Blaze

A user at Niketalk forums posted up these images of an iPod nano that went up in smoke this morning. The forum user, MJair was awoken at 2 a.m. by the fire alarm going off. On a quick panicked inspection of the room, an "orange glow" near his PS3 was seen. That orange glow was nothing less than a fire, approximately a foot wide in length, which was said to be rapidly spreading. Check out more images of the nano wreckage below. More »

4:00 PM on Sat Mar 8 2008
By Haroon Malik
11,180 views, 30 comments

Latest by pupaboy3: Anyone interested in buying a ZUNE? more »

cellphones

Spurned Wife Gets Revenge By Burning 400 Cellphones

In an attempt to get back at her husband for walking out on their marriage, a Chinese wife gathered up the entire stock of cellphones from the retail store they once shared, and proceeded to burn the entire lot before leaving the house. After the smoke cleared, the total damage was estimated to be 400 phones valued at $42,000. No word on what kind of charges this woman is looking at, but I think the lesson here is that if you are an ass with a psychotic girlfriend—hide your gadgets. [cnews via Fark]

5:00 PM on Fri Mar 7 2008
By Sean Fallon
3,636 views, 36 comments

Latest by *click**click*: So this Addy girl likes her hair pulled then? lol! Here's my number: (987) 654-3210 more »

science

Fiery Ring of Hair Mousse Educates as it Entertains; Also, Burns Stuff

In another entry into our series of posts on dangerous-yet-awesome science experiments involving fire, we have a badass and simple video of a guy lighting a ring of hair mousse on fire. Yes, yes, we know it's flammable, but the results probably aren't what you're expecting. If you decide to try this for yourself I recommend doing it in your driveway rather than on your kitchen table, but hell, I'm no doctor. Do it on your carpet for all I care. [Spluch]

10:25 AM on Tue Mar 4 2008
By Adam Frucci
9,897 views, 48 comments

Latest by rimplestultskin: fucking nuts! more »

military

Heat Ray Causes Unintelligible Yelping from 60 Minutes Reporter

Remember the US Military ray gun that makes people feel like they're on fire? Well, 60 Minutes sent out a reporter to see if he could take the heat. Standing in plain view of the ray gun made his body feel like "scalding water," so David Martin attempted, with little success, to hide behind a piece of plywood and later a mattress. Some claim they can only take the heat ray 4 - 5 seconds, so when David tried it we think he only made it 2 seconds, even if he did say, "ONE ONE THOUSAND TWO ONE THOUSAND THREE ONEEEAAHHHHRRHHR" [CBS via TechEBlog]

3:00 PM on Fri Feb 29 2008
By Christopher Mascari
12,824 views, 91 comments

Latest by Alucard: @FLskydiver: It was freaking awesome, except that people blame the cops. more »

laptop on fire

Retromodo: Laptop Catches Fire at LAX, Foreign Woman Freaks Out

Remember that old exploding battery episode? Here's a clip we haven't seen before of it. A very scary video with fireballs jumping from the Sony battery-infested body of this laptop. The people in the terminal sure are freaking out, screaming "OH MY GOD" and jumping up on those vinyl seats. That's probably what we'd do too—not reach in an try and save his porn like the dude halfway in the clip.UPDATE: Apparently, people have been linking to this story as new. I've edited this post to make it more clear that it is an old but recently discovered clip. If you need to check on your Dell's battery to see if it is of the exploding variety, they've written to remind us that you can do so here.

3:00 PM on Wed Feb 20 2008
By Jason Chen
7,073 views, 45 comments

Latest by twoeightnine: How exactly would you have "helped"? I would have called Tom Cruise, he's the only one who could have truly helped. more »

danger

PSP Spontaneously Combusts, Burns Hole in Kid's Pants

A PSP residing in the pocket of a Michigan elementary school student caught fire in the kid's pants and caused burns to the boy's inner leg. The boy escaped serious harm, only being treated for minor burns at the hospital. But maybe Chen should start considering what he puts or doesn't put in his pants. [Click On Detroit via Kotaku]

7:40 PM on Wed Feb 6 2008
By Adrian Covert
5,307 views, 24 comments

fire

My Table Is on Fire and It Feels Delicious

This kind of reminds me of the table at my first Japanese apartment, which had a heater bolted to the bottom, but Ward Huting and Gerard de Hoop's version is a lot sexier with its discular luminescence. Its chewy center oozing warmy warms is a built-in candle—not a totally exposed heat source like my old table—which you can warm tea or naughty children over. It's supposed to be social like a campfire, so it probably works best if you turn your heat off several hours first so people are forced to gather 'round it for warmth. [Huting & de Hoop via Cool Hunting] More »

4:55 PM on Wed Feb 6 2008
By matt buchanan
4,538 views, 11 comments

Latest by Coaster: Hmm. When it malfunctions, do you have flaming furniture? Will your cat find it the new best sleeping place?It's awfully short for a 'gathering round' sort of table... more »

fire

Magic Fireballs are Awesome, Not as Dangerous as You'd Think


Get ready to be the coolest uncle ever: here's a video tutorial on how to make "Magic Fireballs," which are what they sound like. Yes, small balls that you can light on fire and play with without getting burned (well, as long as you know what you're doing). They're sure to make you the most popular guy at the next children's birthday party you attend. [Home Recipes Note]

12:00 PM on Mon Jan 14 2008
By Adam Frucci
41,447 views, 67 comments

hot

Firetruck Fuses With MiG Fighter Jet

Taking a cue from the Batmobile, some particularly fast-to-the-scene firefighters (or just some crazy gearheads) have stuck a 27-foot Russian MiiG fighter jet engine into a firetruck. To accomplish this feat, the (water and gas?) tanks had to be completely removed. So yeah, ironically the firetruck may get to a scene faster, but at the cost of having no way to fight the fire. Other neat fact? More »

8:35 AM on Tue Nov 6 2007
By Mark Wilson
6,166 views, 20 comments

stupidity

Rocket Bike Will Scorch the Earth, Possibly Your Most Sensitive Areas

Because traveling is just more fun when open flames are involved, the BVSA Rocket Bike exists. Created by Jason Broemmel so that he could jump across Islais Creek in San Francisco for a bike rodeo (yes, a bike rodeo. What a country.), this bad boy is powered by highway flares, illegal fireworks, propane, and danger. And just in case you felt like trying to jump Islais Creek yourself, be warned: he didn't make the jump. [Ubergizmo]

11:25 AM on Tue Oct 30 2007
By Adam Frucci
4,192 views, 15 comments

Latest by ANoel: @The Chad:Stale sort of like you've been on Gizmodo for 2 months and 2 days? more »

Those wildfires in Southern California are getting dangerously close (as close as 100 yards) to some of our favorite companies, as Sony, HP and Broadcom have shut down business for the day and evacuated their offices. Some employees have or will lose homes to the fires, which frankly sucks balls. Stay safe guys! [KUSI]

14 comments

bonfire

Jet Engine: The Perfect Firestarter

Bored? Why not rent a jet engine on wheels for your next bonfire? It'll save you the trouble of futzing with those tedious matches, lighter fluid and kindling. Beats fireworks! [Live Leak]

3:00 PM on Tue Oct 9 2007
By Charlie White
16,045 views, 39 comments

Latest by n/a: it's all fun and games until someone gets their eyes singed out!! :^)) more »

explosive news

Nano Afire!


Danny Williams's iPod nano gave him the hot pants, shooting flames out of his pocket and up to chest height. Lucky for him, there was a thick piece of paper in his pocket that shielded him enough to keep him from getting singed balls. Good thing it didn't burst into flames at some inopportune moment, setting his house afire or worse. Apple says it will replace the explosive nano, but wouldn't say if this problem was widespread. Our fave part of this video is when the newsreader calls it a "nanna." [WSBT]

10:25 AM on Fri Oct 5 2007
By Charlie White
15,454 views, 33 comments

Latest by Pixlmonkey: @Falconfire: a coin jammed in the docking slot could have shorted it. more »

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