You don’t have to be an expert in thermodynamics to pull off a clever science project at home. In a video uploaded on Sept. 11, YouTube personality Dave Hax demonstrates how to burn a candle underwater using nothing but a wax candle, a bowl full of cold water, and a lighter. Albeit a simple science trick, the video has earned almost a half million views, demonstrating just how intriguing viewers seem to find his flick of the lighter.

Just how does this science experiment work? According to Education.com, the cold water in the bowl absorbs heat from the burning candle. Without this heat energy, the candle’s surface can cool easily – and even harden in the water. Therefore, whereas a normal candle would melt down due to burning heat, this flame can last under the surface of the water for a short period of time until it eventually melts through and floods.

This is just one of many clever experiments from Dave Hax, a YouTube personality based in the United Kingdom who has earned nearly 1.3 million subscribers with his series of “cool projects, life hacks, science experiments, and cooking tips.” He tells Mother Nature Network that as a trained engineer, “Finding shortcuts and ways to make life that little bit easier is something I guess I just enjoy doing. I also really like the process of putting together a video to demonstrate a life hack.”

In his videos, he has tackled everything from how to fold a shirt in under two seconds (this clip has a whopping 12 million views) to how to draw the perfect circle freehand. He even shows viewers how to cut tomatoes like a ninja. However, Dave Hax appears to be at his finest when providing clever rainy-day ideas for parents to try with their kids that are as fun to execute as they are educational!
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