Any idea how he does this?

G

Gabe Newell

Joined
Jan 6, 2003
Messages
1,139
I came across this video of someone holding hot coals for an extended period:

http://www.vidilife.com/video_play_1183280_Playing_With_Fire.htm

Any idea how he does this for so long?

1) There's no way to know if he has some sort of coating or protective barrier on his hand.

2) He does seem burned afterwards, but not to the degree I would have thought he should have been burned.

3) I'm aware of the thermal conductivity issues that allow firewalking:

http://health.howstuffworks.com/firewalking.htm

and assume that he is benifiting from the same characteristics.

4) I've heard about, but never seen, people sticking their wetted hands in lead:

http://www.csicop.org/si/9911/willey.html

5) I've seen chefs routinely touch boiling oil or other surfaces that I would assume (naively as I'm not a chef) would burn them without any untoward effects.

So, do forgers have similar tricks?
 
Maybe a gram or two of some really high quality blow? :D
 
Gabe, like anything you build up a tolerance to things.. I remember when we were kids my little brother and me were notorious for not wearing shoes. We were raised in a farm like setting, and it would get very hot in the summer. We could walk on black asphalt on very hot days and not even hardly notice. Our feet were like leather. Now if I tried that I would would be dancing around like... well like a cat on a hot tin roof!!;-)
I also notice that from grinding blades and working with hot things alot, and having the tips of my fingers burned, and ground off over and over they build up calous and thickness that diminishes alot of the sensation of heat. Of course it has its limits, and if you dont keep it up it will peel off and go away eventually.
I dont know if this is what yer talking about, but I know I can do things with hot stuff that average people wouldnt even think about doing with thier fingers;-)
 
His hand looked to have 3rd degree burns and it ends with him writhing in pain at a hospital so I suspect he was badly burned. I have touched a hot exhaust pipe by accident and had the same seared gray type burn......
 
Ran into a fellow a few years back that had been shot through the mid section of his right hand. Couldn't feel a thing. He got a kick out of lighting his pipe with red hot coals from the camp fire, when there were new people around who had never seen him do it.
 
""4) I've heard about, but never seen, people sticking their wetted hands in lead:""


My expierence with casting bullets says do not get water anywhere near molten lead.
Causes spectacular explosions, with silver stuff going every where.

Leadfoot
 
There are two things going on with hot things touching fingers/hands.

First there is the physical transfer of the heat to the moist and living inner tissues. These are what is destroyed in a 3rd degree burn. If you work with your hands and hot materials long enough, you will develop thicker and dryer skin and callouses. This will insulate the tender flesh below a bit better.

Second there is the defense mechanism called pain. The pain receptors and heat receptors in the fingers and hands are more numerous. Your eyes see objects ,your hands tell you what the objects are really like. When your fingers tell your brain that the object is hot, the brain reacts and automatically pulls the hand back. With repeated exposure ,and survival with no damage (or minimal and survivable damage), the brain gets re-programed into ignoring the signals. I regularly put my hand into the ultrasonic cleaner to pick up a dropped ring. The solution is HOT, but I know that my hand won't be in there long enough to damage it, so I have conditioned myself not to pay attention to the return signals of HEAT and PAIN.

When dealing with hot steel (or coals) the trick is not to grip the object tightly.
(the same principal works for magician's fireballs).

That said, people who deliberately expose themselves to injury for the fun of it are just plain weird.
Stacy
 
4) I've heard about, but never seen, people sticking their wetted hands in lead:
Click to expand...
I have seen it done. Wet hands, moving very quickly can touch the molten lead and be pulled back without injury.

Jason
 
Strength of will, narcotics, stupidity, demon possession, industrial desensitization ... lots of possibilities.
 
WA Martin said:
Strength of will, narcotics, stupidity, demon possession, industrial desensitization ... lots of possibilities.
Click to expand...

Is this a ballot, where we get to vote for one of these? I vote for...........................................................................................................................................STUPIDITY!
 
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