If you saw the recent Mythbusters where they powered a rocket with salami, you might not be so surprised to learn that PopSci has a piece about ones powered by Oreo cookies, Snickers bars and Pixy Stix. As the piece they wrote about the project so succinctly puts it:
“The energy in food is typically released when, through a complex biochemical pathway, sugars, starches and fats react with oxygen from the lungs. It’s a form of slow-motion burning that, thankfully, rarely involves fire.
“But you can liberate the same amount of energy in much less time by mixing the Snickers with a more concentrated source of oxygen—say, the potent oxidizer potassium perchlorate. The result is basically rocket fuel. Ignited on an open fireproof table, it burns vigorously, consuming an entire candy bar in a few seconds with a rushing tower of fire.”
Read the rest of the piece and see a video of the candy-powered rockets here.