from Hacker News

What if you used a flamethrower as a snowblower? (xkcd's What If?) [video]

by nfriedly on 5/27/25, 6:32 PM with 2 comments

• by nfriedly on 5/27/25, 6:34 PM

  I feel like I remember reading about Boston melting snow to make it easier to transport away. (Instead of just plowing it off to the side, because their streets are more narrow.) Probably didn't use a flamethrower, though.

  On an unrelated note, I didn't know that microwaves were less effective on ice than liquid water. That's useful to know.

• by incomingpain on 5/27/25, 6:41 PM

  Up here in Canada, maintenance of way railway workers use flamethrowers to melt train switches often in the winter. Whereas a snowblower will tend not to do the job.

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSpDPGTUZCk

  Some places, especially yards, will tend to have them built in.