People are already torching things they shouldn't with Elon Musk's flamethrowers, 1000 issued

[Demovictory9]

The YouTuber Justine Ezarik with her flamethrower.

Elon Musk's Boring Company has gotten its $500 flamethrowers into the hands of consumers for the first time.

One thousand people got hold of the devices at a Boring Company headquarters pickup party over the weekend, where they torched marshmallows.

For legal reasons, the machines are named Not-a-Flamethrower.

Some people have already been torching things at home and sharing the images on social media.



http://www.thisisinsider.com/elon-musk-flamethrower-already-being-misused-2018-6

Link to tweet

[MicaelS]

1. BFD.

It's just a BFG (Big Fucking Gun) for big kids. Shoots flame 3 feet. Big fucking deal.

These are already available in a slightly different form.


https://www.lowes.com/pd/BernzOmatic-Lawn-and-Garden-Torch-Handheld-Head/50126417

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Lincoln-Electric-Inferno-Propane-Torch-Kit-KH825-01/100341111

http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1443113


It's getting aroused over stupid shit like this that gives Democrats a bad name. Now try and tell me they should be banned.

[fallout87]

10. Exactly.

Those things are a novelty. Let's not give the other side ammunition to paint the "fun police" on our backs.

[kcr]

17. Then why be a Dem?

Go ahead! Join the America, Bitches! crowd if it's a better fit for you. Sounds like it to me. I don't get why you'd want to be a Dem if it embarrasses you so much. I don't identify with things I don't agree with and am embarrassed by. That makes no sense.

[Blue_Adept]

21. +1

And I hate doing that +1 thing.

But man, I just have to laugh at the haters on this. I was basically doing this as a kid with a can of hairspry and a lighter. And I burned a lot of shit.

Apparently that makes me an "America, Bitches!" American.

[kcr]

24. Yes. It does.

I'm sorry, but the Dem party doesn't have to pander to the wah! Government is just like my mommy! I wanna do whatever I want and screw everyone else! crowd. That one elected Trump and is the reason we have to hear about kids getting killed every other day.

[Blue_Adept]

26. How does this thing actually do that?

[kcr]

28. Uh. It's a flame thrower?

Oh, but it only throws the flame three feet. Three-foot flames are somehow magically less flammable in America, Fuck Yeah land, I guess.

[Blue_Adept]

30. Which is something that you can essentially buy in most hardware stores?

Do you get upset about water pistols too?

[kcr]

31. So

Water pistols are just like flame throwers in Hoo Rah! Lib turds are stoopid! Fuck Yeah, America! land. And I've yet to see evidence of a weed burner that looks and functions anything like a flamethrower. But facts have no place in Manly HUUUUURRR! 'MURICA! Any kind of flame = Flamethrower! the same way bath tub = gun!

[Blue_Adept]

32. Well, bless your heart

You seem to have some strong opinions here and aren't exactly open to discussion. I hope you have a pleasant evening.

[kcr]

34. Well. I am a Dem after all n/t

[Adrahil]

27. OFFS, it's a weed burner. NT

[SonofDonald]

41. And in the real world......

They sell gasoline on a good amount of street corners and when I see people stick in the hose and get back in their cars to play with their cellphones......

Probably the same people who get all freaked out about a "flamethrower".

Nuff said.

[kcr]

42. It's always a car or a bathtub.

What a shame. If only the Founding Fathers could have predicted cars, imagine the utopian dream we could be enjoying right now. As it is, they only managed to get it half right.

[SonofDonald]

48. Bathtubs don't explode

My point was that gasoline, the most dangerous substance most people encounter in their lives is treated like nothing important.

Stick it in the tank, get back in your car, put your mind in neutral and ignore what you're supposed to be doing.

Our Founding Fathers couldn't have predicted a fucking moron populace.

[exboyfil]

2. A disposable lighter and a can of hair spray

costs about $5. That used to be our flamethrowers when I was a kid.

[MicaelS]

5. Yep, me too.

Never burned anything except fire-ant nests.

[exboyfil]

7. I did that too

Also poured gasoline down the nest and lighted it. Die motherf----. I still have the scars on my hand when I reached down to remove a clump of dirt (ie nest) from the lawn mower and had them swarm my hand.

[MicaelS]

8. I have always wanted to get some Liquid Nitrogen...

And try that on fire-ant nests.

Have you ever watched this guys videos? Amazing.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCslpm3Swt7AWO9cJ8c-EZYA

[exboyfil]

9. Yes they are beautiful

[trof]

25. In the olden days we had a box of wooden kitchen matches and a can of Ronson lighter fluid.

We were hell on ants.

[Historic NY]

44. Right guard or Lysol spray cans and a lighter...

[gratuitous]

3. I hope the survivors of the inevitable victim wind up owning every penny Musk has

"Gee, we told the buyers not to use them to torture or kill people. You can't blame us!"

[MicaelS]

6. Oh, FFS. See my post #1.

[fallout87]

11. Do we also want Bic to pay for houses that burn down due to illegal and unsafe use?

[gratuitous]

13. Yes, and Bic had to change its design

Goodness, what people won't do for ignorance (an old story from 30 years ago):

https://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/10/business/lawsuits-and-worry-mount-over-bic-lighter.html

"The Bic Corporation is facing mounting lawsuits on behalf of people who have been burned - and in some cases killed - by fires they say were caused by defects in the company's disposable butane lighters.

"Although claims began to trickle in soon after Bic introduced its throwaway lighters in 1972, the company has until recently been able to keep the cases quiet by settling them out of court, usually making secrecy one of the terms of the settlement."

I know, it's just unthinkable that a company would manufacture an inherently defective (but very profitable) product, then try to hush up the carnage caused by that product. I'm sure Elon Musk - because he's very smart - is way ahead of things on this, and will be judgment proof against any lawsuits.

[fallout87]

15. And in what cases have the "not a flamethrower" been proven defective?

you posted a link to defective bic lighters. In other words, you are comparing apples to oranges.

[gratuitous]

18. They've been on the market for what, 15 minutes?

I appreciate your concern for murderous corporations and their financial well-being. It's touching, really. The "not a flamethrower" (tee hee) will soon enough have a product liability record to rival Bic lighters, lawn darts, and clackers.

[fallout87]

35. So you agree that

the defective bic lighter story you posted wasn't applicable at all to this product? If, and or when these products prove to be defective and end up harming someone, that will be a different story.

[Ferrets are Cool]

4. SMH

[DFW]

12. THAT exhausts your rhyming ability? Where is your creative muse?

How are you gonna do any advertising if you don't do some fun rhyming? I know lots of stuff I could singe with a flame that shoots three feet. I bet Dr. Seuss would have, too..........

I like fire
Turn it higher
Would you like to see some things aflame?

I am not fond of things aflame
I will not play this little game
I will not watch you make things burn.
Burnt flesh just makes my stomach churn
I will refuse from dawn to dusk
I do not want this, Elon Musk

Say, in the park? A Grill in the park?

Not in the park. Not in the dark.
Not in my car. Not in your bar.
I do not want your flame device.
It could do things that aren't nice.
I have no wish to yell “Flame On!”
I will not roast my brother, John.
I’ll make no tree an empty husk
I will not do this Elon Musk.

[Demovictory9]

54. Good job

[Vinca]

14. Just a reminder of how fucking stupid a large chunk of the population is.

[bdtrppr6]

19. +1000

[BannonsLiver]

45. The species is a lost cause IMO

This is just exhibit Z.

[smirkymonkey]

16. What a stupid idea.

[eppur_se_muova]

20. Am I the only one wondering "what's with the fire hydrant" ? nt

[Blue_Adept]

22. Probably a "novelty" one for dogs in a small yard.

Lawn looked like the astroturf type to me.

[eppur_se_muova]

23. Why is she clamping it between her legs ? :)

[Blue_Adept]

29. Must... not... comment...

[LisaM]

33. Why would anyone even WANT to do this?

It doesn't look fun, or pleasant. And I surely don't want to ever be close to one, be it something sold by Elon Musk or at a hardware store.

I can't see any appeal here, and it's probably a matter of time before someone takes one to a forest and 500 people are burned out of their houses, with as crackling dry as much of the West has been the last few summers.

[Blue_Adept]

36. Different strokes for different folks

Some folks like nascar, some like fishing. I'm a fan of movies but lots of people can't stand it - or TV in general. It's just that simple. In a country of 320 million people, there's a lot of diversity of interests and what they find to be fun.

[LisaM]

37. Tell that to the people who lived near Multnomah Falls.

Kid thought it was fun to throw a lit firecracker into what was essentially a huge pile of kindling.


https://www.cbsnews.com/news/teen-who-started-eagle-creek-fire-oregon-ordered-to-pay-36-million-2018-05-21/

Going to the movies doesn't create that kind of devastation, even if other people don't share your attraction to watching them.

[hunter]

38. Colin Furze is my flamethrower man...

[Blue_Adept]

40. Oh man I hadn't seen that in a few years

Thanks for the blast from the recent past.

[kcr]

39. Next up on Boring: Boom Boom Bundles! Not TNT (Tee hee)

What's the big deal? You can buy rice cookers and fertilizer on Amazon. Geeze, we're never gonna win elections with nanny state Dems. How else are you gonna blow out stumps in your field? I remember the good old days when we blew up frogs with firecrackers in the backyard. No sense of fun anymore.

[Initech]

43. Pfff. Big deal. Spaceballs had this idea 30 years ago!

[BannonsLiver]

46. It shoots flames, just like one of his cars.

[Doodley]

47. How many people will be attacked and end up dead or disfigured because of this stupid toy?

How many houses or forests will be burned down? Stupidity knows no limits.

[Downtown Hound]

49. Whatever. I still need mine to defend against xenomorphs.

[LanternWaste]

50. this products seems to accurately portray who we are collectively.

Being the country which marketed the Pet Rock, bottled water and Jersey Shore, this product as well seems to accurately portray who we are collectively.

[Cartoonist]

51. Only three feet, now.

There will be after market add-ons soon. Just like bump stocks for guns. Fun times ahead.

[DetroitLegalBeagle]

52. Elon Musk was already beaten to the market with these things

A company near me makes one for around $800-$1000 that shoots 25ft flames. True flamethrowers have been on the market for a while now. The only reason these are in the news now is because its Elon Musk.

[Cartoonist]

53. The other reason

They're now affordable and easier to get.

[Vinca]

55. There was a report of an arrest in today's local newspaper. A guy was accused

of threatening his girlfriend with one of these weapons. He had it pointed at her face and threated to burn her. What a fucking stupid thing to sell to the public.