It Turns Out Lighters Are Yet Another Thing We've Been Using Wrong All Along

Published October 8, 2021

Every day, it seems like there's a new and embarrassingly basic thing that we've been doing wrong all along.

And while these little revelations can sometimes make us feel dumb, they're also a surprising indicator of how many things in our lives are just figured out through trial and error. And since whatever method we landed on seemed to serve our purposes, it's not like we had much reason to wonder whether there's a better way.

But of course, when everyone does something differently for the first time, we're eventually going to find somebody who lucks into a much easier way of doing things.

And as we're about to see, even the people who pass this knowledge onto us are often a little miffed that they didn't think of it sooner. At least we aren't alone.

In a video posted on September 9, TikTok user @sidneyraz shared a piece of advice that came later in his life than he would have liked.

TikTok | @sidneyraz

And as we'll see in the full video, that concerns how to use a lighter when lighting something from above.

So it won't make a difference if you only use lighters during sad songs at concerts, but you never know when it might come in handy even if you're not a smoker or a fan of fireworks.

If someone gave you a lighter right now, there's a good chance that you would use it in the way described here.

TikTok | @sidneyraz

And that's exactly how @sidneyraz advises not to use it. After all, it may light what you're trying to light, but it's also likely to burn your thumb in the process.

That's assuming you aren't finding yourself on a day with absolutely no wind as even a gentle breeze can blow your flame off course.

And if this man seems a little testy throughout his TikTok, it's probably due to the fact that the way around this problem is insultingly simple.

TikTok | @sidneyraz

It turns out that all you have to do is just flip the lighter around before angling it downward.

That way, your thumb is safely passing under the flame rather than resting right next to it.

If you're more of a visual learner, the video is available here so you can see exactly what he does.

And if wondering how this technique changes whether you're right-handed or left-handed, that part's pretty simple too.

You just need to have the fiery part of the lighter facing right if you're right-handed and facing left otherwise.

At least this one is subtle enough that we can act like we were doing it this way all along.

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