Materials Required:
l Clear nail polish
l Wooden matches
l Styrofoam egg carton
The help of one of your parents
Procedure:
If you’ve ever been on a rainy camping trip and found yourself with soggy matches, here’s a good way to water-proof them.
- Buy some clear nail polish. With the applicator brush that comes in the bottle, paint the striking tips of some wooden matches. Make sure to cover the area thoroughly.
- Poke the other ends of the matches into a Styrofoam egg carton so that the painted tips are sticking up. Do not touch the painted ends.
- Let the matches dry completely, then give them a second coat. Let them dry overnight this time.
- The next day, take a match from the egg carton and dip it in some water. Now, ask one of your parents to strike the tip against the match box. The match will light!
This Is What Happens:
The nail polish coats the chemicals on the match tip and seals them. Since the nail polish is a hard substance, it creates a barrier to moisture. However, when the match is struck, the polish is scratched away, allowing the chemicals to ignite as they normally do.
