Water writing

Here's on for those used to celebrating tomorrow with fireworks: 'Tekes Esh' is a ceremony in Israeli Scouting that I have blogged about, where Scouts write messages and draw pictures in flames- using fire-proof pioneered structures soaked in paraffin.

Omer and the Shevet On group (sorry, Hebrew only website) in Kiryat Ono, Israel, had an idea for a safer version of this idea, powered by glow sticks(available from Amazon) and water. Omer writes:

"The idea was born because you have to bring firefighters here any time you want to light fire inscriptions (and that costs a lot of money) so we decided to think cheap...=]

What you need:
A lot of 1.5 litre water bottles (from recycling bins usually...) filled with water
An iron net
Iron poles (to lash the inscription to the ground)
Ropes (!)
Sticklights (and lots of em...try to get the cheap ones)

All you gotta do is lash the bottles on the shape of the letters (when they are already filled with water) onto the net.

When you want to light the inscription, break all the sticklights and drop them into the bottles (some whole and some cut into pieces)"

Thanks Omer - this is a very effective display that can be used where safety laws don't allow fire writing. Glow sticks can be a little pricey but for a special event this is really impressive. The good news is that unlike fire writing, glow sticks can last up to 12 hours, so your signs will be visible all night!