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)

A burning tank is in Daraa, on March 9, 2013. (Photo by Ali Abu-Salah/Reuters/Shaam News Network via The Atlantic)

A brightly burning magnesium-rich meteor known as a bolide was captured near Bude, Cornwall on January 24, 2020. (Photo by Chris Small/Apex News)

In this Sunday June 13, 1988 file photo West German police officers arrest an English soccer hooligan who sticks out his tongue. Rioting broke out between some 100 hooligans and the police in downtown Stuttgart, West Germany following the European Soccer Championships match between England and Ireland. England was defeated by Ireland 0-1. (Photo by Kraufmann/AP Photo/File)

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.

An emu runs to escape an approaching wildfire as it burns near Potero, California, U.S. June 20, 2016. (Photo by Mike Blake/Reuters)

Fire retardant is dropped on the Fairview Fire burning near Hemet, California, U.S., September 6, 2022. (Photo by David Swanson/Reuters)