The giant inflatable Rubber Duck installation by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman floats on the Parramatta River, as part of the 2014 Sydney Festival, in Western Sydney, January 10, 2014. The creation is five stories tall and five stories wide and has been seen floating in various cities around the world since 2007. (Photo by Jason Reed/Reuters)

A life-size interactive inflatable sculpture of Stonehenge called “Sacrilege 2012” by English contemporary artist Jeremy Deller on display as part of the “Inflation!” exhibition curated by Mobile M + on April 24, 2013 in Hong Kong. The inflatable artwork is one of six on display as part of the exhibition which is open from April 25, 2013 until June 9, 2013. (Photo by Jessica Hromas)

An inflatable snake hovers during a performance by the French street theater company Plasticiens Volants on September 4, 2011 in Berlin, Germany. The spectale, featuring gigantic flying inflatable fairy-tale creatures and performers on stilts and in costume was a part of celebrations for the 125th anniversary of the Kurfuerstendamm, known locally as the Ku'damm, a shopping boulevard. (Photo by Adam Berry/Getty Images)

An ice hockey-themed crew in the 2018 Zaplyv festival of handmade inflatables in 300 Years of St Petersburg Park in St Petersburg, Russia on August 5, 2018. (Photo by Peter Kovalev/TASS)

People view artist David Byrne's installation "Tight Spot" beneath Manhattan's High Line park on September 27, 2011 in New York City. The 48-foot by 20-foot inflatable globe is squeezed beneath the steel support framework of the High Line and is accompanied with a rumbling audio soundtrack created by distorting Byrne's voice. (Photo by Mario Tama/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.

These tiny worlds created in a tiny glass bottle, literally, are the work of Akinobu Izumi. Akinobu uses paper, clay, wax and resin among other materials to create these intricate miniature worlds.