PSA: Candle-carving videos are the absolute best way to waste time on the internet

How It's Made is the best show on television, and that's an objective fact. Fine, it's subjective, but my opinion remains the same. It's the (very safe-for-work) r/powerwashingporn of television in that it's boring, but comforting.

I credit it with leading me to my number one favorite way to waste time on the internet: candle carving videos.

While perusing ripped How It's Made clips on YouTube one night in 2015, I came across one that highlighted the old craft of decorative, carved candles. In the clip, a skilled candlemaker turns a blob of warm wax into the kind of candle you might find in a display case in your aunt's living room. In just a few minutes, the carver carves ribbons of wax, a teeny windmill, flowers and birds. She even forms the leftover wax into candle shaped like a mushroom! It's delightful!

In Cut & Carve Candles: Beautiful Candles to Dip, Carve, Twist & Curl, author Dana Marie Brooks explains the process. At the base of every carved candle is a star-shaped wax pillar called a core candle. Between dunks in a bath of cool water, the candle is dipped in vats of clear or colored paraffin wax to create a layered design. The candles are then hung from a hook and carved with designs before the wax gets too cool. They're dipped in acrylic to seal the surface, and shipped off to enjoy a long life on someone's shelf.

I cannot say how many times I've watched these videos. I can say that they are the best way to waste a lot of time on your computer, should you wish to.