Dubbing himself as “The King of Random,” Grant Thompson knows how to think outside of the box. From creating butter candles and paper plate speakers to lighting a fire with pee and making hi-power balloon shooters, it looks like Thompson's daring curiosity will take him just about anywhere.
But believe it or not, Thompson said most of his rather risky ideas come from life in general. He has a knack for recreating ordinary, everyday items into something different, and totally extraordinary. “Some are just for fun and for science demonstrations, but mainly it's a quest for knowledge in exploring how the world around us works,” he said about his experiments.
Interested in making homemade rocket fuel? The King of Random has the recipe!
Thompson's first project began with an Oxy-Hydrogen generator. After seeing an advertisement online claiming that you could use water as fuel to run cars and motors, naturally, Thompson couldn't ignore the instinct to try it himself. “I was skeptical about the claims, and rightly so, but that led me on a journey to explore the claims, and after a few days I learned that the water was being split into hydrogen and oxygen gasses which were highly explosive,” he said. With this information in mind, he discovered a step-by-step instruction guide on how to build a simple generator, and began toying with it. As for the results of this project, you'll have to see for yourself in his video, “Water To Fuel Converter (Explosive Gas by Electrolysis)” as well as “How To Make Water Explode!”
The King of Random's first experiment, “Water To Fuel Converter (Explosive Gas by Electrolysis)”
After successfully converting water to fuel, Thompson began experimenting with his “Random Weekend Projects.” He said that many of them, such as playing around with high-pressure paper rockets and various other experiments involving fire, were dangerous. “Most of my project videos have been tried more than three or four times before I made the video, just so I had some experience behind me when I showed the project,” he said. “I try to approach each project with a lot of respect, and prepare for the worst while hoping for the best.” According to Thompson, the excitement of a project usually aids any pain caused by an injury. In case of an accident, safety equipment is always on hand, and his wife is often nearby to assist. “Small cuts, burns, blisters, bleeding and peeling skin are all part of the game,” he said. “I consider it a good trade for the knowledge and experience I'm gaining, but I have huge respect for electricity and projects that are truly life threatening, and I don't push those boundaries more than I'm comfortable.”
Though Thompson considers all of his projects his favorites for different reasons, he's most proud of “Butter Candle” and “Mousetrap Gun,” as he claims they're his own original discoveries. He's also got a soft spot for his rocket fuel that launched a homemade rocket, and his makeshift stick welder made out of microwave oven parts.
So what else does The King of Random have up his sleeve? Among his future ideas, he plans to melt metal with electric arc welders and mess around with simple water pumps and check valves, electrical relay switches, black powder, water filters, and much more. Just another exciting reason to look forward to the weekends.
Grant Thompson, his two sons, and his wife.
Aside from his fascinating experiments and discoveries, Thompson enjoys spending time with his wife and two young boys, as well as freerunning. To no one's surprise, he's also a certified skydiver and loves to fly airplanes. In case you missed it, catch The King of Random's appearance on “Good Morning America.”
Want to know more? Check out The King of Random's official channel trailer below, or visit thekingofrandom.com.
Last month, Electronic Products covered The King of Random's wildly popular “solar scorcher” experiment. To read the article, click here.
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