- Gasoline (my experiments were nothing if not exhaustive)
- Dry spaghetti noodles (used in a pinch to light a gas stove)
- Cotton Candy (why do more people not know about this one?)
- WD40 (in aerosol form only)
- Lighter fluid (can be mixed with sand and spread out to form incredibly awesome “flaming desert” campaign with toy soldier)
- Paraffin (note: melted down in sauce pan, spilled some over side onto open flame, whole pan caught on fire. Awesome results could not be duplicated, even after multiple iterations of test conditions)
- Scotch tape (part 2 of the experiment, wherein fumes of said burning are collected and inhaled, or “huffed”, was inconclusive)
- Dried rose petals (experiment was conducted in the hollowed-out bottom of a broom handle, with fume aperture drilled into the side and connected to a venting tube. Crushed and dried petals did not ignite but smoldered successfully)
- Tennis ball slit open and filled kerosene (media reports of this experiment greatly exaggerate the danger of the test conditions. First, if a certain neighborhood collaborator known as M. Baum hadn’t been so afraid of a flaming ball of fire being kicked through the air toward him, he might have successfully blocked it from hitting the pine tree. Secondly, with a little circumspection and foresight, said M. Baum might have realized that the best way to extinguish a tennis ball filled up with flammable liquid is NOT with vigorous stomping. I believe this experiment can, and should, be conducted again with more carefully selected personnel in assisting roles.)
- Epichlorohydrin, one of the two compounds used in making epoxy, when cooked together with nitrate fertilizer over low heat and set in a paper cup suspended over a flaming mason jar full of windshield washer fluid. For best results, conduct experiment underneath a trampoline while 8-year-old sister is jumping above you.
Remember kids, if your home flammability experiments don’t result in being placed on the Homeland Security Terrorist Watch List, you’re not doing it right.
michael lee 2:29 pm on 23 October 2008 Permalink
Well, from your description, he was probably from Troop 257.
corey 2:56 am on 24 October 2008 Permalink
I distinctly remember the last time I pulled a lady out of a wrecked car… I immediately reassured her, “I have superficial urges towards hipness… Oh my God, those jeans are so 2002…”
I keed, I keed…
Sharolyn 7:12 pm on 24 October 2008 Permalink
Corey, thank you for a good laugh. :)
Matt, tonight at a department store, my toddler son picked up a bra and said “I like it.” Thank you for giving me a new set of worries!
michael lee 8:58 am on 25 October 2008 Permalink
Question for the fathers of sons out there – how often do you encourage or discourage certain behavior in your sons by relating it to masculinity?
“Son, I know you’re scared to try this, but part of being a man is having courage when we’re scared.”
“Come on, be a man …”
“A real man doesn’t lie, son. You need to own up to your mistakes, and face the consequences.”
I’m sure there are other examples, maybe from your own experience. This isn’t a critique, this is a genuine questions about how to parent. How important do you think it is to verbalize to your sons a model of masculinity that includes the values you’d like them to pursue?
I know this gets a bad rap, sometimes, and things like little league sports can bring this out in the worst possible way, but my sense is that it can have a positive purpose too.
Thoughts?
Trevor Carpenter 9:34 am on 25 October 2008 Permalink
Mike,
I think that raising our sons, to be Biblically-minded men, is an all inclusive task. It includes, by default and indirectly, the issues associated with being an honest and integrous man. I don’t want to sound to “preachy”, but I think that if focus on Biblical mandates for raising our sons (and daughters), the end result will be what you desire.
However, with that said, I think there is a balance between my boys seeing me be honest, and own up to consequences, having taught them with my actions…AND…instructing them with “nuggets” of wisdom for becoming a solid young man.
Just recently I’ve been focusing on teaching my boys basic chivalry. They only have their older sister to practice on, and it’s working. I’ve even caught them fighting over who would open a door for her. We focus on them letting her get into the car first, always, and not complaining when she is served before them at meals. This is not a negotiable issue, in our home, and my goal is that my boys will grow to understand that they will ALWAYS concede to the proverbial woman. (all joking aside)
But this is reinforced by me doing these things for their mother, and their sister. As always, it’s a balance between listening to my words and watching my actions. I’d add that being deliberate with both types of instruction is pivotal.
Trevor Carpenter 9:34 am on 25 October 2008 Permalink
Oh yeah, and getting them into a rugby league can help.
EMAN 1:00 pm on 25 October 2008 Permalink
COUCHES
VERY FLAMMABLE
Leoanrd 1:15 pm on 25 October 2008 Permalink
Our kids will learn much from what we celebrate. Meaning, if I celebrate honesty, my son will value honesty. If I celebrate his honesty he then learns the value of his honesty. If I celebrate Chivalry, he learns the value of chivalry. On challenge is to break these celebrations along with expectations into pieces that can be accomplished. I have avoided “real men” messages with my son as much as possible and labeled them a “man who listens to God… a man who values integrity… a man who values kindness…
This has helped my son who has no athletic ability at all (I played sports all the way into college) to not see “real men” as a muscle or coordination issue. Which is a prominent message of our culture. He can be a real man and love drama, reading, music and never know how to throw a ball. He can be a real man and hunt and fish as well as sing and dance. These are not the measurement of a “real man” and since this real man message is so much a part of advertisements… well it has saved me. I have a 13 year old son who loves hanging with his dad, loves reading, loves drama and music whose dad loves football, baseball, basketball and 4X4ing, hunting and fishing…
From the time we first had our kids we have asked; What kind of person do you want to be? Do you want to be a kind person? What does that person do with their hands, voice, words, feet, mind… Do you want to be a person who is forgiving? What does a forgiving person do? This has been extremely helpful for my kids (boy 13 and a girl 15)
I asked my kids where their confidence came from and a part of their answer was we were always shown the kind of people we wanted to be… as long as we are that kind of person, we feel good.
Parents who celebrate their rebellion are more likely to raise kids who lean towards rebellion. Parents who celebrate their rebellion are less likely to instruct their kids with authority because they feel as though they cant with integrity. After all I did it… who am I to say…?
My son is reading Harry Potter. We waited until he was 13 and will only let him read a chapter at a time. This is due to how consuming the story is and how easily he can be consumed by the imagery of that world. We never gave him our reason for making him wait. He said last night, “dad, I like your plan for me reading Harry potter because I can digest it without getting caught up in it.” WOW! I thanked him for the clear thinking he was using and for how he was honoring me as his dad. We went and celebrated together by sacrifcina a goat… okay just kidding about the goat but by getting a soda. He is learning to value what we celebrate.
James 2:38 pm on 25 October 2008 Permalink
Mike, on little league:
I have been playing team sports for as long as I can remember, going from baseball, to football (“soccer”), hockey, then rugby. Between all of these, no matter where I lived or what my age was, there always two things that stayed the same: my father egging us on to beat the crap out of the other team (we had some very colorful experiences when he got the job of coaching our baseball team of 1st-3rd graders… haha), and a sense of respect for fellow boys/men.
Though little league sports do tend to have a bad rap for being rowdy and riling kids up, I think people tend to look past what they are really teaching. For a boy to understand that people are relying on him, that he needs to pull through for his fellow men to succeed, all the while humbly realizing that he also needs to understand how much he needs these other people in the same way, is crucial for him to become a man. In this sense, team sports teach a very basic (almost primitive) form of accountability at a young age. These are lessons that teach a man to be a good husband, father, co-worker, friend, son, and member of the community. I whole-heartedly believe that all boys should do some sort of team sports at some point in their childhood, for the sake of teaching respect and work ethic, and the rewards that come from working hard.
And Trevor: I definitely agree. Playing rugby taught me these things probably more than any other sport I have ever been involved in. Maybe it’s because I was more receptive to them at this point in my life, but I like to believe that rugby is just a sport that requires that reliability and teamwork more than most… Just to watch the interaction between teammates will show you that (perfect example, a line-out in rugby… If you don’t understand then Google image search it). There is no star player, just a strong team.
…..Plus, rugby is a BLAST. nothing more manly than beating the snot out of each other non-stop for 80 minutes…. :)
James 2:39 pm on 25 October 2008 Permalink
Apparently indentation means nothing to AddisonRD… so pretend there are actually paragraphs in that last post….
corey 4:53 pm on 25 October 2008 Permalink
I use the phrase “honorable man” with my two boys, Mike. Their daddy wears LOTS of hair product and plays guitar for most of our family’s money- so espousing the virtues of bodybuilding or dunking a basketball are gonna look pretty stupid coming from me. But the boys and I say prayers together most nights and we often talk about what it means to be an honorable man while we’re praying for men and women close to us.
I’m a firm believer in teaching the kids to love those around them, even when it’s hard to like those same people. And how the boys see me treat their mom factors in as well, IMO. I’m always VERY grateful when she brings me a beer and makes my food taste good.
Brandy Ruscica 9:06 pm on 25 October 2008 Permalink
I recently had to have the talk with our eldest (Luca who is 5) about how to make a fist and hit! Seriously! Never thought I’d have this talk…it is soooo for the dad. But he was cornerd at Chick-fil-a in the play area and 2 boys starting hitting him. Poor little guy just stood there and didn’t defend himself. I didn’t think he was old enough before to discern the difference with self defense and being a bully…and think he would’ve probably jumped in in a heart beat to defend his brother…but not himself. So mommy got to do the daddy talk that day. I told him to make a fist and hit hard…then come tell an adult. I don’t know if you agree with this or not…but I was proud to have a masculine type conversation with my son, and to encourage him to stand up for himself and when it is okay to hit back. (Plus, I could kick Tom’s butt anyday…so maybe it was okay that I had this talk with him….ha ha)
Gretchen 3:46 pm on 26 October 2008 Permalink
Thank you Leonard for your insight. I love the language you choose to use with your son and daughter. Definite inspiration and examples of how I would like to raise our own children.
Leonard 4:55 pm on 26 October 2008 Permalink
At least with my kids they wont have as many typos as I do. I even spelled my name wrong. I just added Savant to my title.
sharolyn 5:57 pm on 8 November 2008 Permalink
I read an article in my local paper about how Mythbusters was recently filmed here. The author was talking about how there isn’t really a permit for which to apply (regarding the experiments performed). My favorite quote was when Jamie said something to the effect of: “The difference between us and 12 year-old pyros is we invite the police.”
june 9:03 pm on 8 November 2008 Permalink
My 7-year-old son loves that show! (But I get annoyed when they say “damn.”)
Sharolyn 12:14 pm on 9 November 2008 Permalink
June, one of my favorite students (a female) was Jaime for Halloween, with goatee and beret.
This clip is dedicated to my husband the trombonist, the 12 year-old in Mike, and June’s son.
Addison Road | Scouting at 100 6:14 pm on 8 February 2010 Permalink
[...] post was originally posted as a comment on this post) Tags: boy scouts, BSA, eagle [...]
Zack 10:27 pm on 8 February 2010 Permalink
Man, thanks for re-upping this thread. It’s a fun read….