How-To: Start a fire with your cellphone

Computers & Mobile

I'm a word nerd who loves to geek out on how emerging technology affects the lexicon. I was an editor on the first 40 volumes of MAKE, and I love shining light on the incredible makers in our community. In particular, covering art is my passion — after all, art is the first thing most of us ever made. When not fawning over perfect word choices, I can be found on the nearest mountain, looking for untouched powder fields and ideal alpine lakes.

Contact me at snowgoli@gmail.com or via @snowgoli.

View more articles by Goli Mohammadi

June 11th, 2009 12

With backpacking season upon us, the Survival Skills series on the Backpacker site caught my eye. Their newest skill is how to start a fire in the backcountry with your cellphone battery, some steel wool, and tinder. Simple enough, but worth sharing. You never know when the skill may come in handy for survival … or for solving the next installation of Makeshift. Check out the vid:

Other Survival Skills videos cover surviving a bear attack (hilarious reenactment with a guy in a bear suit), treating broken bones, and putting together a homemade survival kit (that looks pretty darn good). Also check out their tutorials on how to fix your gear.