Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Amelia Randall Branigan was born on July 29, 1982

Happy Birthday Amelia!



My sister Amelia was born on July 29, 1982 at New York University Hospital in New York City.

An interesting fact about Amelia - she started reading at age 3 (not too shabby!)

Happy birthday sister dearest! Hope its a great one! xoxo

Monday, July 6, 2009

Alcohol should never be used for fire breathing

Alcohol should never be used for fire breathing because it is explosive and in some cases may cause poisoning or drunkenness (as demonstrated below).



If one was to attempt to breathe fire, the recommended fuel would be kerosene (or paraffin if your fire breathing internationally) because it has a relatively low flash point (the temperature at which the fuel ignites). Personally, I would not attempt to breathe fire myself - the thought of swallowing flammable liquid and spitting it into a flame a few feet from my face doesn't seem enjoyable.

However, if you are interested in possibly burning your face off and/or dying, here's how they do it. I am in NO way suggesting you try.

For a "safer" way to breathe fire, cornstarch can be used, as seen here.

Regardless of how you do it, I believe fire breathing is something best left to the professionals.

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Fireworks are not toys

Happy Fourth of July! Yes, I know it's the fifth, but I was far away up in the mountains unable to post any independence greetings.

I witnessed a firework mishap this weekend, a reminder that fireworks are not toys, and should not be handled by children, drunkards, or in this case, people with bad luck (no one was hurt, badly).