Masks based on real people's faces are diplayed at the Shuhei Okawara's mask shop in Tokyo, Japan on December 16, 2020. (Photo by Issei Kato/Reuters)

Finland's Heta Tuuri competes in the women's high jump qualification during the World Athletics Championships at the National Athletics Centre in Budapest on August 25, 2023. (Photo by Ben Stansall/AFP 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.

In this photo taken on Saturday, May 16, 2015, Snoek fish with salt on them after they were cleaned in Lambert's Bay, South Africa. The boats line up along the jetty, bobbing in the cold south Atlantic waters, bringing in the day's catch in the early afternoon. The long silver snoek fish is one of South Africa's traditional foods, and a main source of income for the town of Lambert's Bay. (Photo by Schalk van Zuydam/AP Photo)

A Sumatran Tiger looks at visiting children from it's enclosure during the ZSL London Zoo's annual stocktake of animals on January 5, 2015 in London, England. The zoo's annual stocktake requires keepers to check on the numbers of every one of the 800 different animal species, including every invertebrate, bird, fish, mammal, reptile, and amphibian. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Japan's Self-Defence Forces' women's personnel march during the annual SDF ceremony at Asaka Base, Japan, October 23, 2016. Some 40,00 troops, 280 military tanks and vehicles participated in the annual Japan's Self-Defense Forces parade. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)

A tattoo artist applying ink on a girl' s arm during the 2017 Moscow Tattoo Festival at Moscow' s Amber Plaza Shopping Center in Moscow, Russia on April 1, 2017. Tattoo artists from all over the world take part in the event. The festival' s program includes a tattoo contest, body taping art marathon, masterclasses, round table discussions and conferences. (Photo by Valery Sharifulin/TASS)