Bård sets off the smoke alarms

Bård immediately lights the candle with a match, before leaving to find another heat source.

During his brother Vegard’s attempt, Vegard had suggested that anybody trying to complete the task inside the house was "dumb as a rock". We now see that Bård has created a pillar of flame on the desk, inside the study. He sprays lighter fluid onto the candle to fuel the flames, and admits to enjoying himself.

The smoke alarm starts going off, and Bård claps his hands in glee as his fire continues to burn. He then wonders - while brandishing a lighter and uncapping another bottle of flammable liquid - if it’s a good sign that the crew members are leaving the room.

Despite all the flames, there isn’t much visible change in the size of candle, so Bård turns instead to a clothes iron which has been heating up nearby. He starts pressing down on the top of the candle with the iron, while flames continue to burn at the bottom of the candle.

He then switches to ironing the side of the candle, as the wick continues to burn. He notes that any physicists watching would be suggesting that he needs to contact as much surface area as possible.

As he finishes his attempt, he blows out the candle and says that, while his ironing arm is tired, it was fun. He says that he hopes that he’s done enough to win, unless Vegard has put his candle in a bucket and set fire to it (which, of course, is exactly what Vegard does).

Bård manages to melt 664 grams from the candle during his attempt, and earns third place.

(Written by Nic Greyson and edited by Karl Craven)

(Illustrations collected by Nic Greyson and adjusted by David Fuller)