their primary

Videos of people lighting their tires on fire using matches and lighter fluid have quickly gone viral. Incredibly enough, this spectacle isn't just for show. It can prove practical in an emergency when your tires have become flat and no longer form a seal with your wheels. This video delves into the science behind setting tire beads that have become unseated, and mounting a tire on a wheel using a controlled explosion.

Warning: Do not try at home.

See more from: youtube.com/OceanStateTuning, www.youtube.com/dillonswoodworks, youtube.com/user/WestonSummers, youtube.com/ichibahn4, youtube.com/bleepinjeep, and www.youtube.com/JRtransport379

Warning: Do not try at home

------------------------------------------------------

Tech Insider tells you all you need to know about tech: gadgets, how-to's, gaming, science, digital culture, and more.
Subscribe to our channel and visit us at: http://www.businessinsider.com/sai
TI on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/techinsider
TI on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tech_insider/
TI on Twitter: https://twitter.com/techinsider
INSIDER on Snapchat: https://insder.co/2KJLtVo

------------------------------------------------------

Earthworms creep along the ground by alternately squeezing and stretching muscles along the length of their bodies, inching forward with each wave of contractions. Snails and sea cucumbers also use this mechanism, called peristalsis, to get around, and our own gastrointestinal tracts operate by a similar action, squeezing muscles along the esophagus to push food to the stomach.

Now researchers at MIT, Harvard University and Seoul National University have engineered a soft autonomous robot that moves via peristalsis, crawling across surfaces by contracting segments of its body, much like an earthworm. The robot, made almost entirely of soft materials, is remarkably resilient: Even when stepped upon or bludgeoned with a hammer, the robot is able to inch away, unscathed.

Sangbae Kim, the Esther and Harold E. Edgerton Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at MIT, says such a soft robot may be useful for navigating rough terrain or squeezing through tight spaces.

Read more: http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2012/au...

Video produced and edited by Melanie Gonick/MIT
Additional footage: Sangbae Kim