Think you could MacGyver your way out of a dangerous situation? Welcome to Make:’s new MacGyver Challenge — solve this emergency scenario in a creative way and your solution could be featured in the next issue of Make: magazine!
Written by MacGyver TV creator Lee David Zlotoff and his partner in predicaments, Rhett Allain, here’s the new challenge: Wildfire Escape! Share your best solutions below for a chance to be in the magazine and win some Make: goodies too.
Lee Z wrote the popular MakeShift challenge in Make: magazine from 2005 to 2011. Now we’re bringing Mac back to help you think — and make — your way out of natural disasters, power failures, and other emergencies. There seem to be a lot of them these days. As Lee writes in Make: Volume 82, “We are all MacGyvers now.”
Make: subscribers and members — you can meet Lee Zlotoff and other guests from our special Emergency prep and survival issue, at the Make: Volume 82 Launch Party this Thursday September 15.
Be sure to join Make: Community or subscribe to the magazine.
WILDFIRE ESCAPE!
By Lee D. Zlotoff and Rhett Allain
The Scenario
You’re just returning home from an extended business trip by cab to discover your neighborhood is now in the path of a wildfire and everyone has been ordered to evacuate — and they are fleeing in droves because emergency services have made it clear they will not be coming back for anyone. You race into the house to gather up whatever crucial documents and valuables you can, packing your small late-model, automatic economy car with as much as it can hold. But as you jump in to start it, you discover … the battery is dead!
The Challenge
By now, there’s no one around to help you jump-start it. And just as you begin to realize how serious this might be, all the power in the area goes out! So, how are you going to get your car started and escape before the fire gets to you?
What You’ve Got
And it’s all you’ve got:
· One smartphone
· A two-stroke weed trimmer with pull start and some fuel
· Chemicals — paint thinner, acetone, paint (latex based), wasp spray
· Copper pipe, zinc nails, steel screws, a bunch of nuts and bolts
· Basic tools — screwdriver, wrenches, corded plug-in electric drill, saw, pliers, clamps, hammer
· Ratchet straps, tarps, and a tow rope
· Floor jack
· A mountain bike
· A gas lawnmower (push type, no drive)
· 2 battery flashlights with D cells (6 total)
· An old Walkman with 2 AA batteries
· A TV remote with 2 AAA batteries
· Scuba tank with 1000psi of air
· 2 extension cords
· A beach umbrella
Share your best solutions below for a chance to be in the magazine and win some shwag too!
[feature image Adobe Stock-PrettyVectors and nendrawahyu]
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