Light Fires with Toothpaste

The WonderHowTo Awards winners are in. The votes have been tallied.

Despite all of these devastating wild fires, pyromania thrives!!

Congratulations to Angel and his toothpaste potato fires for winning the 2008 Weird Science Award!!

This fire setting trick rivals MacGyver's ingenuity. The science is simple: make a potato battery, a la lemon battery. The wires then spark together, combusting the cotton.

We are still unsure as to the importance of the toothpaste, but we encourage your feedback. First person to explain the science in the comments section below gets a FREE T-SHIRT!