A devotee holds incense sticks while celebrating the Sindoor Jatra Festival on April 15, 2015 in Thimi, Nepal. Sindoor Jatra Festival is celebrated each year in Thimi, on the outskirts of Kathmandu, to welcome the Nepali New Year and celebrate the coming of spring. During the Festival, devotees are smeared with vermillion powder and 30 chariots containing the images of several gods and goddesses are carrying by the devotees around the town, while others sing, dance and play musical instruments. (Photo by Omar Havana/Getty Images)

Members of the NYPD detain protesters from the pro-Palestinian protest encampment and Hamilton Hall where demonstrators barricaded themselves inside on April 30, 2024 in New York City. Police arrested nearly 100 people as they cleared the university of demonstrators who were issued a notice to disband their encampment after negotiations failed to come to a resolution. University President Minouche Shafik has requested the NYPD maintain a presence on campus through at least May 17.(Photo by Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)

Travellers ride their horse through the river during the Appleby Horse Fair on June 5, 2014 in Appleby, England. The Appleby Horse Fair has existed under the protection of a charter granted by James II since 1685 and is one of the key gathering points for the Romany, gypsy and traveling community. The fair is attended by about 5,000 travellers who come to buy and sell horses. The animals are washed and groomed before being ridden at high speed along the “mad mile” for the viewing of potential buyers. (Photo by Nigel Roddis/Getty Images)

An Indian woman collects camel dung during the annual cattle fair in Pushkar, in the western Indian state of Rajasthan, Sunday, November 10, 2013. Pushkar, located on the banks of Pushkar Lake, is a popular Hindu pilgrimage spot that is also frequented by foreign tourists who come to the town for the annual cattle fair and camel races. (Photo by Ajit Solanki/AP Photo)

In this photo taken Tuesday, November 26, 2013 and made available Thursday, November 28, a Sumatran tiger leaps on Australia Zoo handler Dave Styles, left, as an unidentified man comes to Styles' aid in an enclosure at the zoo at Sunshine Coast, Australia. Styles who suffered puncture wounds to his head and shoulder was rescued by fellow workers at the zoo. He is recovering following surgery after being airlifted to a hospital. (Photo by Johanna Schehl/AP Photo)

A man rides a horse through a bonfire as part of a ritual in honor of Saint Anthony, the patron saint of animals, in San Bartolome de Pinares, about 100 km west of Madrid, Spain on Thursday, January 16, 2014. On the eve of Saint Anthony's Day, hundreds ride their horses through the narrow cobblestone streets of the small village of San Bartolome during the “Luminarias”, a tradition that dates back 500 years and is meant to purify the animals with the smoke of the bonfires and protect them for the year to come. (Photo by Emilio Morenatti/AP Photo)

A Hindu holy man, or sadhu, smokes marijuana on a chillum (pipe) at the premises of Pashupatinath Temple during the Shivaratri festival in Kathmandu February 27, 2014. Hindu holy men from Nepal and India come to this temple to take part in the Shivaratri festival. Celebrated by Hindu devotees all over the world, Shivaratri is dedicated to Lord Shiva, and holy men mark the occasion by praying, smoking marijuana or smearing their bodies with ashes. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)

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.