Brandy S. lives in San Clemente, CA and like many Californians, she likes to visit the beach.
One day she visited San Onofre State Beach with her kids.
While there, the kids picked up some colorful rocks to take home. The rocks were an array of colors including green and orange.
The kids handed Brandy the stones and she put them in her pocket.
When the family returned home, Brandy went about her day getting things done around the house.
But as she walked around the house the rocks in her pockets exploded. Flames shot out from her shorts and burned her legs.
Her husband tried to help his wife and ended up with burns on his hands.
Brandy was transported to Western Medical Center for treatment for second and third-degree burns.
Fire department officials took possession of the rocks to have them tested to determine exactly why they exploded.
According to investigators, the rocks reacted to the friction as Brandy walked around the house, causing the rocks to ignite.
The truth is humans have been using rocks for survival for thousands of years.
In fact, a common way to purify drinking water was by using the boiling rock method.
It’s a simple, low-tech way to purify water.
As the name implies, this involves heating rocks in a fire, then dropping them in water to purify it.
How purifying water with rocks works:
First, the rocks are heated in a fire and store the heat energy.
When they’re placed into water, the energy transfers increasing the water’s temperature.
If you keep putting hot rocks into the water, it will eventually reach a boil, which can kill pathogens and make the water safer to drink.
Picking the rocks:
As we learned from Brandy’s story, some rocks can explode.
This is why not all rocks are best for heating up and putting in water.
Ideally, you want to choose granite or basalt rocks because they’re durable and heat well without cracking.
Stay away from river rocks that have been underwater since they likely have water trapped inside them.
Also, avoid rocks like limestone or any rock that is flaky since they tend to hold water.
The best-sized rocks are about the size of a fist. If the rocks are too small, they will cool off too fast.
Containers:
If you are using any type of container, make sure it doesn’t have any cracks and that it can withstand the heat.
The best container for this method is a metal container big enough to hold both the rocks and water.
If you don’t have a metal container, another option is wooden bowls or hollowed out pits.
The process:
First, build a strong fire, and once it has created coals, you can use them to heat the rocks.
Slowly place rocks on the coals so they heat up.
Fill your container with water and rest it on a flat surface slightly away from the fire.
Then, use sticks or tongs to transfer the rocks from the fire to the water.
They will likely hiss and steam, so you want to keep your face and bare hands back from the water container.
Repeat the process by removing the rocks from the water and replacing them with hot ones.
After about 15-30 minutes the water should reach a boiling point.
Keep the water boiling for at least three minutes, then let it cool down.
Now, while this method works, it doesn’t remove physical contaminants from the water.
So, you’ll still need to filter the water.
Another drawback is that the process is very slow, and you’ll need a lot of fuel to keep the fire burning.
It’s slow going, but it’s simple. All you need is fire, water, and rocks.
