Now's your chance to buy a flamethrower

If you would like to clear the snow off your driveway this winter with a 25-foot stream of fire, buy a flamethrower while you still can.

There are two companies in America, one based in Michigan and one in Ohio, making flamethrowers commercially available to the general public. Flamethrowers can be used for a variety of practical purposes (melting snow, controlled burns, agricultural applications) and not so practical ones ("a fun display of fiery power!"). They are also completely legal in every state but Maryland and California.

However, city and state legislators in Michigan are mulling the possibility of bans enforced by fines or even jail time, and other states could soon follow suit. So now is the time to buy. As the producer of the XM42 flamethrower puts it, "If you've ever looked at something and said, 'I really want to set that on fire over there, but I'm just too far away!' then this is the product for you."

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