Starting a Fire with AA Batteries and a Gum Wrapper

The other day my wife and I were watching an episode of CSI:NY where they started a fire with a battery and a gum wrapper.  Naturally I thought to myself, does that actually work as easily as they showed it on TV?  Once the show ended I ran to the kitchen, grabbed a gum wrapper and 2 AA batteries.  Sure enough, the fire started right away!  Very cool!  My daughters were already in bed, so I was a bit bummed that they didn't get to experience this.  The next afternoon when they were home from school/daycare, we grabbed a couple of batteries and a gum wrapper.

They were both a bit scared when I said we were going to start a fire, but I explained that it would be a small fire and near the sink where we had a bowl of water ready to go.  Above is our video.  As you can see/hear, it was a big hit with my daughters who demanded an encore performance.  Of course I obliged!  

You're starting a fire in this experiment, so obviously be prepared.  Also, be careful using your fingers to hold the gum wrapper to the battery terminals.  The wrapper gets hot very quickly and you can burn yourself.  As long as you're careful, this is an awesome experiment/demo to show your kids!!!