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.

A model shows creations of ACUOD by CHANU during Amazon Fashion Week TOKYO in Tokyo, Japan, March 21, 2019. (Photo by Kim Kyung-hoon/Reuters)

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.

Russian riot policemen beat young PREGNANT female anti-Putin activist during a protest rally against the Presidential inauguration of Vladimir Putin on May 6, 2012 in Moscow, Russia.

Jennifer Aniston arrives for the 77th annual Golden Globe Awards on January 5, 2020, at The Beverly Hilton hotel in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Mario Anzuoni/Reuters)

A gallery staff member walks past Fleeting Monument (1985) by artist Cornelia Parker, one of the works on display at Yorkshire Sculpture Parks Longside Gallery as part of the “Making It: Sculpture in Britain 1977-1986” exhibition on March 27, 2015 in Barnsley, England. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)