Light painting on the beach at Walton-on-the-Naze in Essex, United Kingdom on April 25, 2023 using burning steel wool spun around on a rope sending sparks flying. (Photo by Kevin Jay/Picture Exclusive)

An Iraqi soldier stands guard as a pipeline burns in the background after an explosion 30 kilometers (20 miles) northeast of Tikrit, Iraq, Monday, February 11, 2008. (Photo by Bassem Daham/AP Photo)

A policeman stands by a burning car, set alight during a communist march in the East End of London. (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images). Circa 1936

Canadian actress Nina Dobrev kicks her leg up at Burning Man in the first decade of September 2022. (Photo by nina/Instagram)

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.

A Los Angeles County firefighter puts water a burning house in a wildfire in the Lake View Terrace area of Los Angeles Tuesday, December 5, 2017. Ferocious winds in Southern California have whipped up explosive wildfires, burning a psychiatric hospital and scores of other structures. Tens of thousands of people have been ordered evacuated. (Photo by Chris Carlson/AP Photo)

Afghans shout anti-U.S. slogans as they burn tires and block a highway during a protest in reaction to a small American church's plan to burn copies of the Quran, at Jalalabad, east of Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, September 10, 2010. Religious and political leaders across the Muslim world welcomed a decision by the church to suspend its plans to torch copies of their holy book but some said Friday the damage has already been done. (Photo by Rahmat Gul/AP Photo)

A burning train wagon is seen after an explosion at Lac Megantic, Quebec, July 6, 2013. A large swath of Lac Megantic was destroyed Saturday after a train carrying crude oil derailed, sparking several explosions and forcing the evacuation of up to 1,000 people. (Photo by Mathieu Belanger/Reuters)