step 4

Light the plastic bag (watch the video on the intro page for the full effect).

Enjoy!

Comments

[SuavePotato]

Why has nobody pointed out the fact that this was labelled "indoor fireworks". Who in their right mind burns a plastic bag inside their own home?! Go ahead I dare you. Doesn't it smell lovely?

[rokkit]

anything that doesnt explode or send out a rain of sparks, like a fountain does, is considered an indoor firework

[jimihendrix4753]

Yes it does...just like kruschev

[dunnos]

my friend did it, only it wasn't a plastic bag, it was a bb ball and straight after the broken bb gun :( it was horrible

[John Smith]

Hmmm.... That can't be safe. Dosen't burning plastic let off toxic fumes?

[thunderstruck7]

yes

[TamarGirl]

Yes it does. Do it outside if you must. Every little bit harms the environment and possibly you, too.

[sam noyoun]

Yeah, hence the 'not very environmentaly friendly' warning. If you want to make up for the environmental cost of this project, I'll guesstimate you'll have to recycle some 50 plastic carrier bags?

[bbohl54]

used to do this back in the '70s with the wrapping from LP's...same wrapping is on CD's now. we would light the ziltch then lay on the ground face up around the water and watch it drip down. make sure there is no wind. leaves a nasty burn on your forehead :-)

[TamarGirl]

LOL! Used to do this in the 60's in a basement after smoking various substances. Very cheap and effective light and sound show but IT IS VERY TOXIC! I didn't know that then - do now so have never done it since.

[Mr.Floopy]

does it last long?

[sam noyoun]

about 2 mins

[cowscankill]

Wow. That is pretty tight. I'm going to try it outside with leather gloves on....

[Evilthingamabober]

DONT TRY THIS! Ive gotten molten plastic on my hand before, and DAMN, does it hurt.

[diogee]

whole earth catalog....late 70's....had this in it and it was even called a ziltch........they advised using the bags that came from dry cleaners.....got a good burn time too.........and yes, burning plastic stinks AND emits toxic fumes.....so open a window after you burn one....

[PAWZ]

brill, I remember a science teacher showing us that in school many years ago and had totally forgotten about it til I saw the vid and as soon as I heard those cool sounds. thanks for the flashback man, cant wait to try it out again and hear it myself

[ladiesman247]

waht kind of science teacher wuold show you howto make your own ghetto fireworks by burning a bag? honestly.....

[DaNerd11]

Cool, but I don't think that this should be allowed here, not because it is incomplete or anything. It is bad for the environment, we have to be careful about this topic because if we don't do something to stop all the stuff that is happening we all die. Do you really want that to happen? Sorry if this offends you but it is better for the environment.

[roosta]

nice one mate. i dont know if any of you lot have tried this recently, but these "new" tesco bags dont work. you know, the "biodegradable" ones (they dont actually biodegrade, they degrade in bright sunlight and oxygen, not much of either a foot under compressed rubbish at a landfill site. even then, they take atleast 8 months to degrade. if i didnt have coursework to do right now, id go and get the evidence. im sure itl be near the top on google). ive strapped knotted bags to nunchaku before (before i got my full fire ones :D :D) and they are suprisingly hard to put out with wind. spinning them around me they just flicked blue flamed plastic around. i used 2 big argos bags tho :P

[X_D_3_M_1]

lols guesstimate a word?

[funwithfire325]

fire...fire...FIRE!!

[dontwealllovebuda92]

that was the best instructible for us pyros with little time easy sweet and effective bravo

[sam noyoun]

'glad you like it...

[pyro13]

ooooooooo im gunna try this out 2morrow, but thx for the tip about toxic smoke or whatever

[Vendigroth]

SAM! this is great, the waterproof one, too. I have some gut glue gun glue that i use like this sometimes. Lemonie's right, tho, don't get a drop on your skin, it's not fun.

[tech-king]

its cool. but why does it work?

[sam noyoun]

As the bag burns, the plastic melts and falls down into little droplets that whistle beacause of their irregular shapes.

[DanteDante]

This is so cool! That noise is so comic-book-y! I used this effect as pretend (but kinda real) napalm with my greeen plastic army men when I was a kid. INCOMING!!!! fffap! fffap! Also used PVC, rubber hoses, plastic bottles, basically anything plastic or rubber would create the same effect, and all are almost equally environmentally un-friendly. Quite frankly, between all the fires, horiontally launched model rockets (which transformed them into model missiles), fireworks hacking, and the black powder my dad kept in the garage, I'm surprised I'm still alive... and completely intact. Perhaps I should post an instructable called "fun with bullets." Then again... Anyway, that's all off-topic. Sorry. This instructable kicks butt!

[Shark500]

see, like i said. screenshots from the movie = no more bad comments. =D keep em commin!

[pyro22]

very cool ____ Horay! for metacafe

[InfamousKirch]

I wonder why it makes such wonkulous sounds .... very cool though ...

[lemonie]

Yes I've done this many times, cheap plastic rope is somewhat superior to plastic bags. Also the plastic device you find holding your beers together in 6 or 4 packs. Very unpleasent on the skin - take care.

[pyrokid]

sam-I have one thing to say-u r0k! u make great instructables, and they are always about stuff that intrests me.

[sam noyoun]

Yeah... I'm a kid at heart too!