Film/TV question: How to build Foam Cutter from only household items
"Cut the foam! Cut the foam!", she cried as she wriggled and squirmed in the styrofoam dishwasher packaging she got stuck in.

"With what?", cried Bob as he scanned the kitchen for something suitable.

"With a hot-wire styrofoam cutter, of coarse! You'll need about 50 cm and a couple of hundred watts.", said Alice.

"There isn't one in the cupboard.", said Bob. "But wait - there's a toaster!"

Whipping out his Swiss Army knife he unscrewed a couple of Philips screws on the bottom, ripped off the covers and bent out one of the element panels. Deftly cutting through the panel's insulation he was able to pull out about 50 cm of wire. He had his hot-wire foam cutter. Now he just needed to avoid electrocuting both of them.

He put the disassembled toaster on the floor, grabbed the silicone oven mitts and two forks to hold each end of the wire. Stretching it as taut as he could he depressed the toaster lever with his foot.

"Don't move!", he said as the element quickly turned red hot. The radio which had been on all the time bizarrely started to play Buffalo Springfield's Down to the wire. He pressed the hot wire against the foam and it started to cut right through. Bob had forgotten about the smoke and the smell but carried on until he was within an inch of her skin. Kicking the toaster he turned off the power and breathed a sigh of relief. He grabbed Alice's hand and yanked her out of the packaging breaking the remaining bits.

"That's the last time I'm playing hide and seek with you.", he said as he wiped the sweat from his brow.



Maybe I'll stick to electrical engineering. And maybe this isn't a good "how-to" for a TV show.