Q: Fill a spray bottle or garden sprayer with plain, undiluted white vinegar and apply directly to the poison ivy.  As with chemical herbicides, vinegar can be applied to untrimmed leaves as well as cut stems. Vinegar will take longer to work than most chemical herbicides, but as long as you are willing to put in the extra time, the treatment should work. Combine 3 lbs (1350 g) of salt, 1 gallon (4 liters) of water, and 1/4 cup (60 ml) liquid soap in a garden sprayer. Apply the concoction directly to the poison ivy.  Use the treatment primarily on uncut leaves. You can also use it on cut stems, however, For an even stronger solution, add vinegar into the mix. Dissolve 1 cup (250 ml) of salt in 1 gallon (4 liters) of white vinegar over low heat. Once cool, stir in about 8 drops of liquid dish detergent and apply the solution to the poison ivy as a spray. Boil a kettle or pot of water and dump the hot liquid directly over the roots of the poison ivy plant.  This will need to be done on a daily basis, and it may take quite some time before the plant actually dies off. The boiling water can be dumped on the base of the plant, but for best results, dig away some of the soil surrounding the base to expose a portion of the roots directly. Note that even dead poison ivy plants have poisonous oils on them, so you should still take precaution when removing them. After removing or cutting down any poison ivy plants you notice in the area, scatter grass seed. When grass grows, the roots choke out the roots of the poison ivy, making it difficult if not impossible for the plant to come back. This treatment takes quite some time since the grass needs an adequate amount of time to grow. In the meantime, you should keep up on removing or cutting down poison ivy plants you see.
A: Use white vinegar. Apply a salt-and-soap treatment. Pour boiling water over the poison ivy. Plant grass.

Q: If you hear nothing when you try to start the car, and the electrical circuits seem to be OK, then there is probably a problem with the starter itself. You'll need to carefully disconnect the starter's wiring, unbolt it, and remove it from the engine block to do further testing.   Removing a starter (with or without an attached solenoid) must be done carefully -- including jacking up the vehicle -- to prevent damage or hazards. Your car's owner's manual may be of assistance, but leave this job to a pro if you're not confident in your abilities. If you do remove the starter yourself, make sure you mark all the wires and keep track of the bolts for reassembly! Take the red jumper cable and connect one end to the positive terminal of a car battery. Connect the other end to the thick positive post on the starter’s solenoid. Attach one end of the black jumper cable to one of the starter’s ears (the fin-like parts sticking up off of the main cylinder) and its other end to the negative battery terminal. Take a few feet of insulated 16-gauge wire. Strip one end and crimp it onto the small terminal on the starter. Go ahead and strip the other end as well, but don’t do anything with it yet. When you bench test the starter, it may move around and shoot some sparks. Holding it down with your foot prevents it from jumping around and causing injury. You can ask someone to help you. Have them hold the starter down securely with a booted foot while you perform the test. When you do this, the starter pinion should move and spin. If it doesn’t, then the starter is bad and will need to be replaced. If the starter does spin and you still can’t figure out why the car won’t start, have a mechanic inspect it more thoroughly.
A: Remove your starter. Attach jumper cables to your starter. Connect a wire to the starter’s small terminal. Hold the starter down with one foot. Touch the other end of the wire to the positive battery post.

Q: A spinal fracture (also called a "vertebral fracture") is a very serious injury that can cause permanent damage to the body, though this is not necessarily guaranteed. Spinal fractures occur when one or  more of the vertebrae in the back crack or come apart. The most immediate symptom is intense pain in the middle or lower back that makes it very difficult or impossible to continue doing what you're doing. This pain may be similar to what you might get from breaking another bone in your body (like, for instance, an arm bone), only localized in the back. Faking this sort of pain can be a challenge. When the "injury" occurs, you'll want to cry out in pain, fall to the ground, and immediately start wincing or writhing in intense pain. If you can cry on command, this is a good time to use your skill. Like most broken bones, spinal fractures lead to persistent pain that lasts long after the initial injury. This pain is especially bad when doing anything that puts even minor stress on the back. This includes:  Standing Walking Getting up or sitting down Bending Twisting One of the worst things about spinal fractures is that even lying in bed does not reduce the pain completely. Since it is impossible to lay horizontal without putting a little stress on some part of the back, even bed rest will be painful, though not as much as standing or moving around. Typically, for real fractures, this is mitigated with pain medication and narcotics. Because a spinal fracture results in actual physical damage to the bone structure of the back, it can cause noticeable changes in a person's stance and posture (though this was more common in the past when treatments for this type of injury were limited.) You may want to imitate this sort of damage as part of your act. Specifically, spinal fractures can cause:  A "hunchback" appearance A decrease in height The inability to stand straight up When a spinal fracture occurs, the bone from the broken vertebra can press against the nerves of the spinal cord (though this does not always happen.) When this occurs, symptoms that are very similar to those from a pinched nerve caused by a herniated disc can occur. These include:  Shooting pains in one or more limbs A numb, tingling sensation like the limb has fallen asleep Weakness and stiffness in the affected limbs In severe cases, a loss of bladder/bowel control Spinal fractures are usually caused by sudden, violent injuries. It can be difficult to seriously fake these sorts of injuries — for instance, convincing your friends that you've just been in a car crash will require lots of work. However, knowing the sorts of injuries that can cause spinal fractures can still be helpful if you're pretending that you had one long ago. Examples of injuries that can cause spinal fractures include:  Serious car crashes Long falls Gunshots Violent sports injuries (tackles, etc.) Combat injuries Note that all of the examples above will usually also give you other injuries like broken bones, scars, lacerations, and so on. If you are aiming for authenticity, be aware of this. A spinal fracture is not something that can be treated in the home with a few over-the-counter pills. Spinal fractures require immediate medical attention to assess the damage done, administer drugs, and start addressing treating serious problems like nerve damage and so on. Don't seek actual treatment for your fake spinal fracture. As mentioned above, this is a blatant misuse of medical resources that can have major consequences. However, if you're pretending that you've already been dismissed from the hospital, you may want to do the following:  Wear a back brace or a spinal cast Stay off of your feet Wear compression stockings (special socks designed to keep blood clots from forming in the legs for people who are bedridden) Imitate the nerve damage symptoms indicated above Take small doses of over-the-counter medications for pain and inflammation. Don't take actual medical-grade painkillers, as these can have serious side effects if misused.
A:
Pretend to have severe, debilitating pain in your back. Act like the pain "flares up" when standing or moving. Keep faking moderate-level pain while lying down. Keep your back curved or hunched. Optionally, fake nerve damage. Have a good story ready. Pretend to be undergoing treatment.