The Many Uses of Glow Sticks
Created | Updated Dec 13, 2004
You've all seen them, whether it was at a fireworks display, where they were up for sale somewhere, or maybe you are lucky enough to own some. Glow sticks are tubes varying in size which contain two separate chemicals. When these two chemicals are mixed together (usually by snapping a small class pod within the tube) they produce a light emitting reaction. Glow sticks are an unmissable part of modern day society. When thinking of uses for glow sticks you may run out of ideas after the 'wave them around' notion. Here are few more suggestions. Well, actually here are 101 suggestions:
1. Christmas decorations
2. New Year’s decorations
3. A cool bracelet
4. A cool necklace
5. A cool anklet
6. Put loads together to make a cool belt
7. A groovy hair band
8. To illuminate parts of the body (stomach, chest etc)
9. Make one float above your head with wire so you have a halo
10. Put them on your shoes so you can see where you are going
11. Put them on your arms when you are cycling so other road users can see where you are going
12. Use then as front/rear lights on your bike
13. Put them round your ears for groovy earrings
14. Attach them to bike wheels for a grand affect while riding
15. Attach them to the wheels of a car for a grand affect while driving
16. Keep one in a car as an emergency beacon
17. Attach one to the end of your car aerial
18. Throw them in the air as a safe alternative to fireworks
19. Use as a safe alternative to sparklers
20. A light source to investigate gas leaks
21. Drop a bunch down an elevator shaft before you abseil down (For a demonstration see the film ‘Ocean’s 11’ where this idea came from)
22. Use as light source when deep sea diving
23. Join a couple into a ring and use as a Frisbee
24. Throw one across the neighbour’s garden when they are outside to confuse them
25. Attach one to the bottom of a helium filled balloon to give the impression of a UFO
26. A good talking point
27. Put them in a bag
28. Set them in concrete so you don’t lose them (unless you lose the concrete)
29. To spell things out with (no naughty words)
30. To spell things out with (including naughty words)
31. Use them as runway lights
32. Juggle them
33. Attach them to juggling clubs to give an odd affect
34. Join a load together and use as a skipping rope
35. A reading light for when you don’t want to wake up your partner (aren’t you the friendly one?)
36. An emergency light for when a tornado/earthquake/flood/anything else hits
37. Put one on each step of a flight of stairs to make them safe at night
38. Hang them on door handles so you know where they are
39. A night light
40. Something to get arrested for stealing
41. Something to bribe police with when you get arrested
42. Float one in a fish tank/pond and see what the fish make of it
43. When night fishing use one to attract fish
44. Put a small one on top of your float when fishing so you can see it when fishing at night
45. Put one on the toilet seat so you have a beacon of light to guide you there during the dark nights
46. An emergency light for when you get stuck in a mine
47. A good thing to sell
48. Put them on sharp corners so you know where not to walk
49. Put them on the edge of a cliff so you don’t walk off
50. Use as a light in a tent
51. Attach to guide ropes on tent so you/people don’t trip on them
52. Put them on top of tents so all the other tents envy you
53. Take the chemicals out, and mix them while doing a show as a magic trick (DO NOT ACTUALLY TRY THIS ONE)
54. Put the two chemicals in a water gun and have a brightly lit night fight (DO NOT ACTUALLY TRY THIS ONE)
55. Something to brag about
56. Put one on a string and wear it as a variation of a groovy necklace
57. When you’re hiking in the dark use them so you can see each other and don’t get split up
58. Put one on your rucksack so you are more visible
59. Christmas presents
60. Birthday presents
61. Try to hypnotise people with one.
62. Stocking fillers
63. Put them inside tights for a strange affect
64. When someone has been in complete darkness for a long time crack one in front of their face and dazzle them
65. Use then as a new and original martial arts weapon
66. Get two pieces of string, put one on the end of each and swing them round (use as poi. See www.homeofpoi.com for more details)
67. Put one of both ends of a piece of string and spin that
68. Invent a signalling method with them
69. Put one round your dogs collar when you take it for a walk so you don’t lose it
70. Put one round your dogs collar when it goes in the garden so you don’t lose it
71. Put one round your cats collar when you let it out so you won’t lose it
72. Use as team tags in games
73. Use as things to find in a treasure hunt
74. Wave them around and see if any planes land near you (like the bright orange things landing people use)
75. Use to indicate a drop zone
76. Put one on a remote control car when sending into dark environments
77. See how high you can throw one
78. A key ring
79. Something to keeping in your pencil case
80. Draw a face on one and call it Bernard
81. Make your new glow stick with face (Bernard) your new best friend
82. Make another glow stick person to be Bernard’s wife
83. Make some glow stick children
84. While you’re at it make the glow stick family a pet dog
85. Show one to someone and see if you can convince them it was a gift from God
86. Use to mark visited points on a night exercise (military/cadet type thing)
87. See how many you can get confiscated in one day
88. Ask someone to marry you and offer it to them as a ring
89. Wave one in someone’s face then inform them you are perfectly sane
90. Suck it up using a vacuum cleaner then see if it goes into the bag
91. Use as prizes for raffle/lucky dips/games/anything else
92. A goodbye present
93. Run a bath with loads of bubbles, put a few in (make them sink to the bottom) and see all the pretty colours
94. Make into a glow-ball (connectors required)
95. A cool thing to have an obsession about
96. Put one in the fridge when/if the light breaks
97. Con people into buying a used one then laugh at them
98. Wait for a blackout (somewhere you don’t like) then get loads of glow sticks, crack them all, throw then everywhere and dance with glee when the place gets bombed
99. See how far you can throw one
100. Something to buy lots of.
101. Try to convince someone that the glow stick you hold in your hand is a cunningly disguised banana.
After reading the above list you may be a bit confused about one or two glow stick related factors. Here is more in depth information about them.
There uses, as you have seen above, are endless. With a bit of imagination you can turn one of two glow sticks into something new and exiting. To do this you should use the appropriate size. These sizes and the pros and cons for each size are explained below:
• Mini glow sticks – this are about 1.5 inches (38mm) long and 5 mm (0.2 inches) wide. They are normally sold in packs of two and advertised as fishing glow sticks. There are a variety of different mini glow stick related products available including rings, necklaces and mouth pieces which make your mouth glow. These glow sticks will glow brightly for 1-2 hours and will remain lit, just not as brightly, for several hours afterwards.
• The ‘normal’ glow stick – this is the glow stick most commonly used in the above list. It is 8” (203mm) long and about 5mm (0.2 inches) wide. If you are buying large quantities then you shall find them available in tubes of either 50 or 100. These will come with connectors to make your glow sticks into bracelets, necklaces etc. Once activated they will glow brightly for 5-6 hours but will continue to glow (although they will grow progressively dimmer) for up to 2 days. Caution must be taken when handling these as they do activate very easily. Once they have been activated they will be very flexible but care must be taken not to bend them too much as the tube can be punctured. The normal glow stick can be purchased with various different connectors. These enable you to create glow glasses and glowing bunny ears.
• The 6”er – as the name suggests this glow stick is 6” (152mm) long and 10mm (0.39 inches) thick. The connectors that are supplied with these sticks are attached to one end allowing a string to be connected to the end. These are the brightest glowing sticks but they will also not last as long as the others. They are slightly more expensive that the previous types. These glow sticks will remain brightly illuminated for around 12 hours but a dimmer glow will be emitted for a long time after this. Unlike the mini glow stick and the normal glow stick the 6”er has a glass pod shorter than the length of the tube. This means prior to activation it will appear that there is an air bubble in the tube. This is normal. Although less flexible then the normal glow stick the advantage of these is the brightness as which they glow.
• The 22”er – These 22” (558mm) long glow sticks are the same as the normal stick just longer. They can also have more than one colour in each glow stick. They come with the same sort of connectors as the normal stick but are just longer. Predictably they are more expensive then all other types due to superior length. You can usually buy these at firework displays for a few pounds each but are much cheaper if you buy them in bulk.
All types of glow sticks are available in a variety of colours.
The chemicals inside glow sticks are non-toxic, non-radioactive, do not produce heat and is non flammable. If ingested it is not poisonous or harmful (although if consumed in large amounts medical attention may be required) but tastes rather nasty. If it gets on your skin or in your eyes simply remove it using water. If the chemicals are spilt on clothes they can be easily washed out using normal washing detergent although absence of staining is not guaranteed.
1. Christmas decorations
2. New Year’s decorations
3. A cool bracelet
4. A cool necklace
5. A cool anklet
6. Put loads together to make a cool belt
7. A groovy hair band
8. To illuminate parts of the body (stomach, chest etc)
9. Make one float above your head with wire so you have a halo
10. Put them on your shoes so you can see where you are going
11. Put them on your arms when you are cycling so other road users can see where you are going
12. Use then as front/rear lights on your bike
13. Put them round your ears for groovy earrings
14. Attach them to bike wheels for a grand affect while riding
15. Attach them to the wheels of a car for a grand affect while driving
16. Keep one in a car as an emergency beacon
17. Attach one to the end of your car aerial
18. Throw them in the air as a safe alternative to fireworks
19. Use as a safe alternative to sparklers
20. A light source to investigate gas leaks
21. Drop a bunch down an elevator shaft before you abseil down (For a demonstration see the film ‘Ocean’s 11’ where this idea came from)
22. Use as light source when deep sea diving
23. Join a couple into a ring and use as a Frisbee
24. Throw one across the neighbour’s garden when they are outside to confuse them
25. Attach one to the bottom of a helium filled balloon to give the impression of a UFO
26. A good talking point
27. Put them in a bag
28. Set them in concrete so you don’t lose them (unless you lose the concrete)
29. To spell things out with (no naughty words)
30. To spell things out with (including naughty words)
31. Use them as runway lights
32. Juggle them
33. Attach them to juggling clubs to give an odd affect
34. Join a load together and use as a skipping rope
35. A reading light for when you don’t want to wake up your partner (aren’t you the friendly one?)
36. An emergency light for when a tornado/earthquake/flood/anything else hits
37. Put one on each step of a flight of stairs to make them safe at night
38. Hang them on door handles so you know where they are
39. A night light
40. Something to get arrested for stealing
41. Something to bribe police with when you get arrested
42. Float one in a fish tank/pond and see what the fish make of it
43. When night fishing use one to attract fish
44. Put a small one on top of your float when fishing so you can see it when fishing at night
45. Put one on the toilet seat so you have a beacon of light to guide you there during the dark nights
46. An emergency light for when you get stuck in a mine
47. A good thing to sell
48. Put them on sharp corners so you know where not to walk
49. Put them on the edge of a cliff so you don’t walk off
50. Use as a light in a tent
51. Attach to guide ropes on tent so you/people don’t trip on them
52. Put them on top of tents so all the other tents envy you
53. Take the chemicals out, and mix them while doing a show as a magic trick (DO NOT ACTUALLY TRY THIS ONE)
54. Put the two chemicals in a water gun and have a brightly lit night fight (DO NOT ACTUALLY TRY THIS ONE)
55. Something to brag about
56. Put one on a string and wear it as a variation of a groovy necklace
57. When you’re hiking in the dark use them so you can see each other and don’t get split up
58. Put one on your rucksack so you are more visible
59. Christmas presents
60. Birthday presents
61. Try to hypnotise people with one.
62. Stocking fillers
63. Put them inside tights for a strange affect
64. When someone has been in complete darkness for a long time crack one in front of their face and dazzle them
65. Use then as a new and original martial arts weapon
66. Get two pieces of string, put one on the end of each and swing them round (use as poi. See www.homeofpoi.com for more details)
67. Put one of both ends of a piece of string and spin that
68. Invent a signalling method with them
69. Put one round your dogs collar when you take it for a walk so you don’t lose it
70. Put one round your dogs collar when it goes in the garden so you don’t lose it
71. Put one round your cats collar when you let it out so you won’t lose it
72. Use as team tags in games
73. Use as things to find in a treasure hunt
74. Wave them around and see if any planes land near you (like the bright orange things landing people use)
75. Use to indicate a drop zone
76. Put one on a remote control car when sending into dark environments
77. See how high you can throw one
78. A key ring
79. Something to keeping in your pencil case
80. Draw a face on one and call it Bernard
81. Make your new glow stick with face (Bernard) your new best friend
82. Make another glow stick person to be Bernard’s wife
83. Make some glow stick children
84. While you’re at it make the glow stick family a pet dog
85. Show one to someone and see if you can convince them it was a gift from God
86. Use to mark visited points on a night exercise (military/cadet type thing)
87. See how many you can get confiscated in one day
88. Ask someone to marry you and offer it to them as a ring
89. Wave one in someone’s face then inform them you are perfectly sane
90. Suck it up using a vacuum cleaner then see if it goes into the bag
91. Use as prizes for raffle/lucky dips/games/anything else
92. A goodbye present
93. Run a bath with loads of bubbles, put a few in (make them sink to the bottom) and see all the pretty colours
94. Make into a glow-ball (connectors required)
95. A cool thing to have an obsession about
96. Put one in the fridge when/if the light breaks
97. Con people into buying a used one then laugh at them
98. Wait for a blackout (somewhere you don’t like) then get loads of glow sticks, crack them all, throw then everywhere and dance with glee when the place gets bombed
99. See how far you can throw one
100. Something to buy lots of.
101. Try to convince someone that the glow stick you hold in your hand is a cunningly disguised banana.
After reading the above list you may be a bit confused about one or two glow stick related factors. Here is more in depth information about them.
There uses, as you have seen above, are endless. With a bit of imagination you can turn one of two glow sticks into something new and exiting. To do this you should use the appropriate size. These sizes and the pros and cons for each size are explained below:
• Mini glow sticks – this are about 1.5 inches (38mm) long and 5 mm (0.2 inches) wide. They are normally sold in packs of two and advertised as fishing glow sticks. There are a variety of different mini glow stick related products available including rings, necklaces and mouth pieces which make your mouth glow. These glow sticks will glow brightly for 1-2 hours and will remain lit, just not as brightly, for several hours afterwards.
• The ‘normal’ glow stick – this is the glow stick most commonly used in the above list. It is 8” (203mm) long and about 5mm (0.2 inches) wide. If you are buying large quantities then you shall find them available in tubes of either 50 or 100. These will come with connectors to make your glow sticks into bracelets, necklaces etc. Once activated they will glow brightly for 5-6 hours but will continue to glow (although they will grow progressively dimmer) for up to 2 days. Caution must be taken when handling these as they do activate very easily. Once they have been activated they will be very flexible but care must be taken not to bend them too much as the tube can be punctured. The normal glow stick can be purchased with various different connectors. These enable you to create glow glasses and glowing bunny ears.
• The 6”er – as the name suggests this glow stick is 6” (152mm) long and 10mm (0.39 inches) thick. The connectors that are supplied with these sticks are attached to one end allowing a string to be connected to the end. These are the brightest glowing sticks but they will also not last as long as the others. They are slightly more expensive that the previous types. These glow sticks will remain brightly illuminated for around 12 hours but a dimmer glow will be emitted for a long time after this. Unlike the mini glow stick and the normal glow stick the 6”er has a glass pod shorter than the length of the tube. This means prior to activation it will appear that there is an air bubble in the tube. This is normal. Although less flexible then the normal glow stick the advantage of these is the brightness as which they glow.
• The 22”er – These 22” (558mm) long glow sticks are the same as the normal stick just longer. They can also have more than one colour in each glow stick. They come with the same sort of connectors as the normal stick but are just longer. Predictably they are more expensive then all other types due to superior length. You can usually buy these at firework displays for a few pounds each but are much cheaper if you buy them in bulk.
All types of glow sticks are available in a variety of colours.
The chemicals inside glow sticks are non-toxic, non-radioactive, do not produce heat and is non flammable. If ingested it is not poisonous or harmful (although if consumed in large amounts medical attention may be required) but tastes rather nasty. If it gets on your skin or in your eyes simply remove it using water. If the chemicals are spilt on clothes they can be easily washed out using normal washing detergent although absence of staining is not guaranteed.
