You don’t have to take up bad habits to blow smoke rings. On the YouTube channel DaveHax, life hacker David Haxworth teaches viewers how to blow smoke rings using a balloon, an incense stick, and a plastic bottle. “I first saw the homemade smoke rings idea on a TV show when I was a child, and I remember thinking it looked like great fun,” Haxworth says. The balloon propels puffs of smoke through the bottle’s mouth, creating picture-perfect smoke rings—no inhalation required.
Stats
- Time: 10 minutes
- Cost: $4
- Difficulty: Easy
Materials
- 16.9 oz. plastic bottle
- Balloon
- Incense stick
Instructions
- Use scissors to cut off the bottom of a dry, empty plastic bottle, while taking care not to slice your skin on the sharp plastic.
- Cut off and discard the narrow mouth of a balloon. Carefully stretch the balloon over the bottom of the bottle until it’s taut.
- Light an incense stick with a match or lighter, and then blow it out. Hold the smoky end inside the bottle, covering the opening.
- Once the bottle has filled with smoke, remove the stick. Lightly tap on the balloon end of the bottle to produce a smoke ring.
This article originally appeared in the July 2015 issue of Popular Science.
