Firestarters by Crayola

Amazing the things that we all have laying around that have some really great uses and do not even know it. Take crayons for instance. I had read somewhere that they were good for starting fires. I was at Wally World picking up a few things and I told my wife I needed to go get something.

“What do you need to get?,” she asked.

“Crayons.”, I said.

“Crayons? Why in the world are you buying crayons?”, she asked. 

“I think they will make good fire starters and want to test it out.”, I responded.

My response was followed by the biggest eye-rolling in history and a very large sigh, “whatever….”, she said.

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I figured I would go with the top-of-the-line Crayola brand. I bought a small pack and after getting home turned into a pyromaniac. Took the crayons out to my grill and started messing with them. In a very short amount of time I discovered something very important…..

They burn and burn extremely well.

What I found was that it works best when you light the non-pointy end. The paper wrapper works as a wick and the melting wax boils and burns. You can see from the picture above that a pretty good flame is emitted. I also found that these burning crayons are fairly wind resistant. A gusting wind will blow them out but a light breeze that may blow out a match or candle has little effect on the crayon.

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Lastly – one crayon burns for a pretty long time. I did not time it but at least 15 minutes.

Pretty cool discovery. Have any crayons lying around? Give it a try. It also works extremely well to break the crayons up into smaller pieces – just leave the wrapper on.

Funny though – noticed my hamburgers tasted a little odd after this test for some reason.

Hmmmm…

Rourke


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5 thoughts on “Firestarters by Crayola”

  1. Rourke- you are always thinking ! Great idea with the crayons. Caution-crayons also melt if left in the heat.
    As kids I left them on my Dads car dash board -oh boy !! They ran into the car heating grate there.
    Every Aug Walmart usually sells crayola crayons for 25 cents per small box- just before school starts so I
    buy several boxes -good for the grand children for school and for when the power goes out. Arlene

    Reply
  2. I have been stocking up every August on the crayolas. My wife thinks it is crazy, but when the dog eats my “colors.” We have backups.

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  3. Okay that’s cool. Funny about the taste. If crayons are used just to start a fire and not on a grill. Would the taste still be affected?

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  4. Quick, someone notify the school police the kiddos are playing with fire sticks. Thanks Rourke. Light the non-pointy end. I get it. Good idea.
    PR

    Reply

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