Watching a Matchstick Rocket Explode Is Cooler in Slow-Mo

As the Slow Mo Guys show in this video, the recipe for making your own little rockets consists of little more than a few ordinary household products. In this experiment the British duo wrapped a piece of aluminium foil around a match head and made the tiniest rocket. It's even cooler to watch it explode several feet into the air with a slow-motion camera.

To make a rocket, all you need is some foil, a wooden skewer, some matches and a heat source like a candle. This six-minute video perfectly explains how to assemble it, if you're now inspired to pursue a weekend project.

What appears to look like a harmless rocket actually explodes into the distance because of a combustion of gas within the foil. The camera, which records the launch at a mind-boggling 2,500 frames per second, shows the rocket spewing out a cloud of smoke like a real one.