A fan of Colombia cheers prior to a qualifying soccer match against Venezuela for the FIFA World Cup 2026 at Metropolitano stadium in Barranquilla, Colombia, Thursday, September 7, 2023. (Photo by Fernando Vergara/AP Photo)

If we were to burn NH4Cr2O7 with HgSCN in the Dark Ages in Europe and show it to anyone, it is us who would be burning next on a fiery cross of Inquisition. And it’s no wonder, since this experiment produces a truly marvelous result. At first, as you ignite the mixture of NH4Cr2O7 and HgSCN, all you can see is that it is slowly burning with a reddish flame. After a while, however, a crater is formed in the middle of the burning pile, and then, suddenly, tentacle-like appendages start sprouting from the burning mixture. And you can almost hear the scream of the mad occultist – “Come forth, Kraken! Come forth!” But of course, this is simply a chemical reaction that is called the "Pharoah's Serpent". It was also often sold in firework stores until people realized that it was toxic.

The world's longest moustache (belonging to one Ram Singh Chauhan of Rajasthan, India) measures a staggering 11.5 feet, or nearly 4 metres.

Отава Ё – Яблочко (Otava Yo – Yablochko; Russian: Яблочко, “Little Apple”). Yablochko is a Russian folk song of chastushka style and dance, traditionally presented as sailors' dance. The choreographed version of the dance first appeared in the 1926 Reinhold Glière ballet The Red Poppy and from there is known in the West as the Russian Sailors Dance.

Models backstage ahead of the St George New Generation show at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia 2015 at Carriageworks on April 16, 2015 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)

Mates Jimi Hunt and Dan Drupstee dug the 650m slippery slide on a property at Helensville, northwest of Auckland and opened it this weekend as part of a festival to help combat depression.

People visit the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve in Lancaster, California, to view the flowers blooming on April 6, 2023. California’s biologically diverse landscapes are home to more than 7,000 species of native plants, and the California Poppy, also known as golden poppy, a flowering plant native to the United States and Mexico became the official state flower in 1903. (Photo by Frederic J. Brown/AFP Photo)

Colombian-Spanish actress Juana Acosta attends the Fotogramas Awards 2012 at Joy Eslava Club on March 12, 2012 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images)