Remember MacGyver (or, as I’m more familiar with, SNL’s take on the character: MacGruber)? He was a 1980s television character who could basically make his way out of any predicament. His engineering prowess got him out of a number of sticky situations, as he could basically escape from a locked room with nothing more than a bobby pin and an old penny. Nowadays, “MacGyver” has been used as an adjective for an object that was quickly and creatively (and perhaps haphazardly) put together. Naturally, that term has made its way to the marijuana industry, where many enthusiasts will rely on MacGuyver Weed (apples, onions, etc) and tools for smoking cannabis flower.
You’ve probably seen this in movies or television shows. A few people are looking to get stoned, but they don’t have any pipes, glass, or papers. What do they do? They start digging around their parents’ kitchen in pursuit of a makeshift pipe.
While it’s certainly not ideal, creating a MacGuyver weed pipe is actually an easy way to get yourself out of this predicament. Furthermore, you can impress everybody with your engineering skills!
Below, we’ve explored two of the most common MacGuyver weed-smoking devices: food and gravity bongs. Before you head out to that local corner store for some papers, see how you can get high with whatever’s in your house…
Food
If you don’t have a pipe or papers at your disposal, then you may be forced to get a bit creative. Fortunately, you won’t have to venture much further than your kitchen to find the necessary tools. That’s because there are plenty of fruits and vegetables that will serve as a capable weed vessel.
Before we start discussing the creation process, we naturally have to select the proper food for your makeshift pipe. Generally, round objects are easier to engineer; the various holes you’ll be creating won’t be as effective on, say, a banana.
This factor still leaves you with plenty of options. Apples are the most popular of the food pipes, although you could also opt for an orange or (if you’re feeling particularly feisty) a pineapple or melon. If you’re in the mood for something that’s more savory, then consider engineering an onion or potato. When smoking your device, you’ll likely find that the smoke contains some of the flavor of your makeshift device. Consider this as you’re searching through your kitchen.
Also, you should consider the integrity of your soon-to-be pipe. If the fruit isn’t fresh, it will be more difficult to make the various tunnels. If the fruit is fresh, these tunnels should maintain their integrity.
So how do you make a fruit pipe/bowl? Well, it’s a whole lot easier than making an apple pie. All you’ll need is your fruit, a pen, nail or toothpick, your weed, and a lighter. There are a few ways you can do this and many different foods you can use. For our example, we’ll be using an apple.
DIY Apple Bowl
First, pull out the stem; this will be unnecessary and get in the way. This will also be serving as your makeshift bowl. Of course, make sure you’re not completely penetrating the core (at least not yet), you’re going to be relying on the entire fruit.
Next is going to be the difficult part. Before you do anything, make sure you take the ink out of your pen. You are then going to take your pen and stick it through the center of the apple and out through the other side. You want it to go directly beneath the area where the stem is and straight out the opposite side. You want it at a spot that is comfortable to keep your thumb on. One side of this is going to be your mouthpiece, and the other is going to be your carb.
Finally, you are going to want to take your nail or toothpick and gently poke a hole from where the stem was so that it reaches the tunnel you had previously dug out.
Now, you have a homemade pipe! Pack the weed up top, hold the carb, put your mouth the mouthpiece, light, and inhale! It’s that easy! One of your buddies might try to tell you that eating the fruit after you’ve smoked will provide you with an edible-high, but we’d suggest just tossing the fruit when you’re finished. This could be one of those times that an apple a day won’t keep the doctor away.
For these, you can also use a potato, an onion, or an orange but you will need to cut a small bowl into the top of your fruit or vegetable.
Gravity Bong
The benefit of a fruit bowl is that it can be transported; you can smoke it in your apartment or on a park bench. It’s essentially the same advantages of a traditional, discrete pipe.
On the flip side, you can’t be lugging a bong around town as you’re looking to get high. Similarly, you won’t be able to tote around a gravity bong. On the flip side, these makeshift bongs are a perfect choice if you’re looking to get the high that a bong provides, but it’s reserved for those who are looking to stay in for the rest of the night. Gravity bongs are nothing we would recommend to a new marijuana user but rather the more seasoned and experienced smoker.
Gravity bongs rely on water and, well, gravity to create a wildly potent hit that’s reminiscent of a traditional bong hit. Plus, they’re incredibly easy to use. Of course, it’s important to remember that while bongs are good for social situations, users will generally get one single hit off of one gravity bong bowl.
DIY Gravity Bong
Creating a gravity bong is easy, and you should have all the materials lying around your house. You’ll need a soda bottle (preferably a two-liter, although smaller iterations will work), tinfoil, a bucket, water, cannabis flower, and a lighter.
To create your gravity bong, you’ll want to cut a plastic bottle in half (retaining the top half). The bigger the bottle, the better; the bottle will fill will smoke, and more smoke will naturally fit into a larger bottle. Next, cover the bottle’s hole with aluminum foil, and then poke some holes in your new makeshift bowl. This is where you’ll be placing the weed; the deeper the bowl is, the more weed you’ll be able to fit.
Search around for a bucket that will be a proper fit for the bottle. Once it’s secured, fill it up with water. Place the bottle in the bucket (making sure that the top hole is not submerged), and then light the flower in your makeshift pipe. While lighting the weed, slowly lift the bottle from the water (without letting the entire bottle leave the water – if this happens, the smoke will escape out the bottom).
Then, when you’re satisfied, remove the tinfoil, quickly place your mouth over the hole, and push the bottle back towards the water. The smoke will instantly be pushed into your lungs, providing you with perhaps one of the most unique one-hit experiences out there. If you’re really crafty, you may be able to find a way to hit the gravity bong without sucking up all the smoke, thus saving it for another user. However, in most instances, you’ll get one single hit from each bowl.
We’ll never judge around these parts, but even if we did, we’d honestly say that food and gravity bongs deserve to be in the same tier as bongs, pipes, and papers. These MacGuyvered smoking devices are easy and can be fun to make and they’ll get you high.
