An annual fire festival is held in Nachikatsuura, Wakayama Prefecture, western Japan, on July 14, 2019. (Photo by Kyodo News via Getty Images)

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.

Отава Ё – Яблочко (Otava Yo – Yablochko; Russian: Яблочко, “Little Apple”). Yablochko is a Russian folk song of chastushka style and dance, traditionally presented as sailors' dance. The choreographed version of the dance first appeared in the 1926 Reinhold Glière ballet The Red Poppy and from there is known in the West as the Russian Sailors Dance.

American singer, songwriter, dancer, record producer, actress and model Tinashe is seen on July 23, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by gotpap/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)

College students play with coloured powder to celebrate the festival of Holi, near Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on March 7, 2023 (Photo by Press Trust of India)

General view during First Round Group A basketball game Ivory Coast v China in the FIBA Basketball World Cup at the Wukesong Arena in Beijing, China on August 31, 2019. (Photo by Thomas Peter/Reuters)

Children play football on March 10, 2022 on a concrete slab in Mukuru Kwa Njenga informal settlements, where structures have been demolished in November 2021 to pave the way for the construction of the Nairobi Expressway. (Photo by Simón Maina/AFP Photo)