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.

Internet is filled to the brim with cat pictures and cat videos. It seems that cats became the symbol of the internet. For some unknown reason, cat owners simply love taking pictures of their beloved kitty-cats and posting them on the internet for all to see. Everyone’s cat is special; however, some are more special than others. Take Garfi for example. As soon as you catch his menacing stare, you immediately realize the reason why this kitty became popular. The look he gives you would send shivers down anybody’s spine. Yeah, the look Garfi has is somewhat special, but nothing will compare to the “facial expression” of Tard – the Grumpy Cat! A look that screams – “All is lost! Life has no meaning…”. (Photo by Hulya Ozkok)

What would superheroes do if they had a part time job? Well… besides fighting crime, the powers of most superheroes aren’t exactly very useful. Sure, Flash would make a great delivery boy, delivering the freshest pizza in the world, while Thor might turn out to be a great smith (though judging by the way he handles his mallet, it is very unlikely), but in the end of the day, all these things are pretty useless. It sure is hard being a superhero when you have no villains to catch; especially if the only superpower that you have is lighting yourself on fire. Reducing you to a mere job of being used as fuel for cooking grilled chicken. Besides, it’s not exactly useful for catching villains either, if you don't plan on burning them alive… (Photo by Chow Hon Lam)

Have you ever tried painting with light? Yes, you’ve heard us right. It is not a figure of speech, and it is actually possible to draw with light if you have a good camera and a tripod. All you have to do is to set your camera on a tripod in a dark place (preferably at night in some park), set exposure time to the max, turn on a single bright light (the screen of your mobile phone will do), and you can start painting. Darren Pearson is a photographer who specializes in making such drawings. The level of intricacy with which he creates his paintings is astounding, considering the fact that making such a drawing is like painting with a blindfold on.

Sprout A Pencil That Grows is a very simple but excellent concept. We all know that as soon as a pencil gets down to the point where there’s only an inch or so left it’s pretty much useless. The Sprout lets you put that little stub to get use. The end of the Sprout has a seed capsule that is water activated, after you plant your pencil and water it a few times the capsule dissolves and the seed’s start germinating. The plants usually take about a week to sprout. The Sprout pencils come in a number of varieties including vegetables, herbs and flowers like rosemary, tomato, marigold, and many more.

Suso33 spent the last few days perched on a yellow crane to work on this impressive new piece on the streets of Madrid, Spain. Using a rather simple technique, the Spanish artist painted a brilliant piece which enters directly amongst our favourite artworks this year. This mural is a concentration of slightly outlined figures which are persecuted by their shadows, but if the viewer, instead of focusing on details, looks at the entire picture, what he sees is another figure. Take a look at more images after the jump and if you are in the area, you'll be able to find the piece at plaza del Poeta Leopoldo de Luis.

Watermelons are one of the sweetest parts of summer, but there’s no reason not to have some fun with them before you start eating. Artist Clive Cooper of Sparksfly Design saw beauty in the rinds and got to work carving sculptures out of the fruit before digging in. (Photo by Clive Cooper)

You have no idea of the power of a skillful makeup artist. By working his magic, he can transform a woman into a respectable gentleman, a young lady into a heartless drug dealer, or simply show how a person would look like after a few decades have passed. Some can even transform a not-so-handsome young man into a beautiful young girl, which can spell a lot of trouble if you see him/her at a night club. Lucia Pittalis is one of those masters of makeup, and she uses her skills to stun the audience by transforming herself and a few volunteers into famous movie characters, actors, and musicians. (Photo by Lucia Pittalis)