Flaming idiot! Bored student in Zoom class gets a real-life chemistry lesson when he tries to put out a burning candle with water
- Footage, which was recorded in London, shows a candle burning on the desk
- Young man attempts to extinguish the flame using water which escalates blaze
- He starts to panic before carrying it into bathroom where the candle ‘explodes’
This is the heart-stopping moment a candle flame escalates into a fiery blaze when a bored student attempts to extinguish it with water.
Footage, which was recorded in London, shows the candle burning on the desk after the young man lit it and then dropped matches into the container during an online Zoom lesson.
As flames flare out of the wax-filled container he tries to douse them in water, which only makes the situation worse.
The unnamed student then starts to panic before carrying the pot into the bathroom where he claims the candle ‘exploded’.
In the clip, recorded on February 5, the candle can be seen sitting on the student’s desk as he giggles and says: ‘This is just too funny.’
His teacher can be heard talking in the background as a Zoom class continues on his laptop.
The student then takes a glass of water and pours it into the candle’s container which suddenly causes flames to shoot up uncontrollably.
The young man behind the camera takes an abrupt step back and mumbles expletives under his breath.
The footage, which was recorded in London, shows a candle burning on the desk after the unnamed young man lit it during an online Zoom lesson before attempting to douse it with water
The student pours water it into the candle’s container which suddenly causes flames to shoot up uncontrollably (pictured) as he takes an abrupt step back and mumbles expletives under his breath
The video then cuts to the student carrying the pot into his bathroom using a towel to protect his hand from the heat.
He repeatedly says ‘oh my God’ as the candle spits and crackles before he hurriedly launches the candle into the sink in his adjoining bathroom.
Filming the aftermath, the young man pans to show the wax that has spilled over the edge of the sink and on to the floor.
The tap has been left running with the towel and candle holder drenched in water.
He says: ‘Oh my God, I actually turned it off but it’s such a mess. I’m laughing so hard.
The video then cuts to the student carrying the pot into his bathroom using a towel to protect his hand from the heat as the candle spits and crackles
Filming the aftermath, the young man pans to show the wax that has spilled over the edge of the sink and on to the floor as the tap is left running over the the towel and candle holder
‘I would have gone to jail. My God. But look at my bathroom because you know it is full of wax and I didn’t know that wax was very flammable.’
He looks down and laughs at the dozens of matches lying in the sink which he had put into the candleholder to create a ‘mini fireplace’.
Speaking after the mishap, the student said: ‘During online school, I was in a boring zoom class and I was playing with a candle I had on my desk.
‘I thought it would be fun to create a mini fireplace with the candle just for the fun of it.
‘So I put around 30 matches inside the candle and, afterward, the fire got bigger and I decided to put it out with water but it got worse.
‘I was really scared, the fire got bigger and bigger so I decided to bring it to my bathroom and shower to put it out, where the candle exploded there, and all the wax was everywhere.
‘This is why you should be paying attention during class and not playing with fire or candles.’
The dangers of dousing a wax fire with water
Wax fires, whether they are caused by candle wax or another form of wax, should never be doused water.
If water, which is much denser than candle wax, is poured on to a candle that has reached a burning temperature the water will vaporise almost instantaneously.
As the water shifts from a liquid to a gas it expands violently and throws the burning layer of wax out into the surrounding area in the form of tiny melted droplets.
These burning wax droplets will now have access to more oxygen than they did when inside the candle.
This means that they will combust quickly and spread the fire further.
Experts encourage using candle snuffers to extinguish small flames.
Wax fires, whether they are caused by candle wax or another form of wax, should never be doused water (stock image)