How many times has the lack of fire or lack of teeth killed you or someone you love in the wild? Do you dream of successfully following in Captain Sir John Franklin’s footsteps? Then let science be your sextant: learn how to make a battery and avoid scurvy with nothing more than a lemon, copper clips, zinc nails, wire, and steel wool! Watch the video below to find out how.

Electricity is generated through oxidation-reduction, a chemical reaction that occurs when the zinc dissolves into the acid; the lemon itself doesn’t generate electricity, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have your own lemon party!

Scurvy is a disease caused by a vitamin C deficiency whose symptoms include the loss of teeth and eventual death. The word ascorbic acid, the technical term for vitamin C, is derived from scorbutus, Latin for scurvy.

More info: YouTube (h/t: laughingsquid)

You can squeeze about 1 Volt out of a lemon battery

Begin by sticking copper fasteners into the fruit

Add some zinc nails

Connect the copper to the zinc on a diagonal

Attach one insulated wire to the free copper fastener and one to the free zinc nail

Touch the two wires to a piece of steel wool to create a short-circuit, and watch the steel wool heat up!

See the full video instructions below:

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