News

Man becomes instant viral star for using a flamethrower to get rid of snow on his driveway

Man becomes instant viral star for using a flamethrower to get rid of snow on his driveway
Timothy Browning

We’ve all felt our frustrations at the weather build up until we just can’t take it anymore. 

For some of us, that’s because the pandemic has left us with little option but socialising outside – only to find that the forecast of a day or two of rain has made us cancel our plans. For others, it’s that timeless feeling of waking up to find that your driveway has been completely snowed over and you have to shovel it all away if you want to have a chance of leaving your house.

One Kentucky man, Timothy Browning, had an unorthodox method of doing so – using a flamethrower. One of his neighbours, Jordon Podunavac, said that he started to record the video when he noticed Browning outside using a flamethrower to clear his driveway, which was icy and full snowed over. 

Podunavac wrote in a Facebook post featuring the video: “Some people use a shovel, others use a flamethrower!”

In the video, Browning can be seen chugging a beer (and throwing the can on the ground) before pointing flames towards the driveway to clear the ice and snow. He was wearing a white bathrobe, slippers and for safety reasons, a helmet.

On Twitter, people voiced their appreciation for the unconventional method.

Speaking to Reuters, Browning  said; “I thought it'd be funny for a video and wanted to clear off the under layer of ice on the driveway.”

What made it even better is that Browning seemed to be dressed like cousin Eddie from the classic American film National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, although it’s not clear where that was a deliberate homage or just what Browning had on hand at the time. Either way, it adds an extra element of fun to an already bizarre video.

More: From candy canes to ugly sweaters: How the most popular Christmas traditions originated

The Conversation (0)