F = m(dot) ve + ( pe – pa ) Ae – tinsel

Driving home the other day, I saw an enormous pile of Christmas trees at the park. City workers take the old trees and drop them in local lakes to form a habitat for fish. I thought to myself, driving past this mountain of fir and spruce, there has to be a better use for old trees. And it turns out there is.

As the video above shows, with 33 rocket engines, a little backyard engineering and a car battery, a Christmas tree is able to achieve a somewhat impressive launch. We’re not condoning this type of behavior, we are big believers of the Mythbusters credo, “Don’t try this at home.” Still, I never thought I’d see a Christmas tree launched 100 feet in the air!