In a power outage, you can make a DIY stove from tea lights and a muffin tin.

Question

You can boil water in a power outage with tea lights and a muffin tin.

Answer 1

This claim can be seen as true or false depending on your own experience. After doing some research on the creator of this TikTok, she seems to have a blog with other tips and life hacks. https://littlepinelearners.com/blog/ . Also she is currently working on earning a Bachelor of Actuarial Science degree at Butler University. So since the video is about something you could do in a natural disaster, the creator most definitely has the credentials to back up her claims. 

But one way someone can say that this claim is false is if this trick doesn't work for them. Maybe say they don't have the right size muffin tins or tea lights. But it seems that this trick has been successful for other users on TikTok.

 https://www.tiktok.com/@crazy.c.77/video/7323646266972458245 

A user on reddit shared this same process and people in the comments were sharing how they thought this was a good idea. Also people commented other solutions. 

https://www.reddit.com/r/lifehacks/comments/d1cg63/during_a_power_outage_use_a_muffin_tin_and_tea/ 

Another claims that users on Ifunny have made is that, this process would take too long to cook anything. https://ifunny.co/picture/if-you-need-to-heat-up-water-soup-or-other-2IGLXJa8B 

This life hacks seems it works but could have some errors during the process. Depending on the situation this could possibly take too long and may not be useful/ or may not work for certain food items.  So though it is supposed to be a "life hack" it may or may not serve its purpose. 

Comments

This research was done really well. They looked into the original claim made on Tik Tok and expanded on it by looking into the creator. This is a really good tactic for fact checking Tik Toks because it is considered a social media platform mand anyone could post anything.

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Very good fact check! I like how you went into depth on the creator to see if they had a history of survival hacks, etc. Also, knowing that people in the comments found the tip to be useful is a good way to know if it's actually true!

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The research within your answer was really well done, the fact that multiple different people have had success with this hack means that it does work. However, I don't agree with certain parts of your analysis. You mentioned that some people didn't have success with the hack, but that doesn't mean that the hack itself is false or misleading information. It was mentioned that those who experienced failure didn't always use the correct sizes for certain items which then altered the hack. This doesn't inherently change wether or not the claim would be considered true.

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Nice analysis on this claim -- which states that one "can" use this DIY hack if needed. The caption on the TikTok video explains how to do so successfully. Therefore, isn't the claim factually true? That one could potentially use this approach to boil water or cook etc.?

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Your research on this claim is really well done. While there are a good amount of lies on platforms like TikTok, some creators do post with truth behind their statements. I like that you did background research on the creator to find that she is working towards a degree that would back up her claim that water can be boiled by a tea light candle.

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I think this is a very interesting topic to fact-check as it can have very different outcomes, which you identified. The research you did on both the original poster and more background information on the topic is very throughout. It gives me more ideas for how to better approach my future fact-checks. Tiktok can be a very persuasive cite that is full of misinformation and this shows a good way to navigate it.

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This is a fantastic fact check. You went into depth, checking various sources to  verify the validity of the claim. While your research was more than sufficient, I would say that the statement is technically true, rather than subjective. The claim does not guarantee that this will work for everyone, only that it's possible. Additionally, the various testimonies you gathered support the idea that it is possible to boil water on a candle stove.

Answer 2

It is possible to boil water using tea lights and a muffin tin. Aside from the TikTok video linked by the News Detective poster, others have posted evidence of their success using the same method on sites like YouTube and TikTok.

Here are a few posts that use the same materials and get the same result.

https://www.tiktok.com/@crazy.c.77/video/7323646266972458245?q=tea%20light%20muffin%20tin%20&t=1706505440001

https://www.reddit.com/r/lifehacks/comments/d1cg63/during_a_power_outage_use_a_muffin_tin_and_tea/

https://closetsamples.com/diy-crafts-and-recipies/power-down-grub-on-diy-cooktop-with-tea-lights-and-a-muffin-tin

Additionally, people have also documented their success in using tea lights with other everyday materials other than a muffin tin. One user used a metal tray and several tea lights to boil their water. They posted this successful attempt on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4L17yeqncg

These successful attempts show that the claim is true, it is possible to boil water using tea lights and a muffin tin. However, I believe it is also important to address the fact that this may not work for everybody, as tea lights and muffin tins come in different shapes/sizes. If the tea lights are too small, or there are too few of them, the water may not be able to reach it's boiling point. Thus, despite the claim being true, this does not guarantee success for everyone using the same method.

Comments

I think you did a great job in getting other sources to back up the claims of the original video.  With many people who have tried it and garnered success from doing it, it provides more credibility.  I also agree that it might not work for everybody as different shapes and sizes of the tea lights and muffin tin can cause a output different than what is expected.  Overall, you did a great job in backing up the original Tiktok's claim as well as stating how it might not work for everybody who tries to do it.

Answer 3

This claim is dependent on the tools of the person who tries. If you have the proper size muffin tin as well as the tea lights, it would work. If your muffin tin is too small or too big, you have a higher chance of being unsuccessful. Based on the TikTok stitches given in this video, there were a lot of people who were unsuccessful; then there were a few who were successful. It is all dependent on what you have available.