When I was a wee small child – I think fourth grade, so I would be about their age – the power went off. So mama got out candles. And I was attempting to read. I had the book close to the candle and my head down close to the book so I could see – candles don’t put out all that much light. When — what the heck is that smell? And why is my head getting warm? 😀
A cousin of my mom’s once had a turkey just in a tin foil roasting pan (not set in anything more solid) and accidentally spilled some grease when pulling it out. Fortunately she only just singed off her eyebrows.
I once was trying to light a wooden match over a sink, only to have the match break in half as soon as it finally lit. The lit part went flying into a basket of towels. Fortunately it didn’t like flying right after it lit up, and just left some charcoal on the towels without burning anything as the air transit put it out.
“Pyrrhus” does literally mean “fiery” or “flammable”. As a name (for instance, the guy who achieved a victory at great loss) it probably refers to red hair.
Specifically, a guy who picked a fight with the Romans, and who found that they could absorb costly defeats more than he could absorb costly victories.
Hey, I’ve got a relevant story! (Don’t worry, nobody gets hurt.) This was in the mid-to-late 90s when my brother and I were both teenagers.
On this fateful day we were trying to start a small campfire to grill something or other. Mom had given me one of her cheap disposable lighters to get it started. Thing is, it was nearly out of fuel, so I was just standing there with a piece of tinder in one hand and the lighter in the other, getting nothing but sparks.
Josh hollered over to me, “oh, just throw it in.” So I threw the tinder and the lighter into the fire pit.
Remember how I said the lighter was nearly out of fuel? That became relevant a few minutes later. Josh had managed to get the fire started, and was stirring up the contents of the pit with a piece of rebar, when suddenly I heard a noise. It was less “fwumsh” and more “poomf”.
I turned around and all I could see was a tiny mushroom cloud rising up out of the pit… where my brother’s face had been… my brother’s now eyebrowless face. The butane left in the lighter was enough to pop and make a small fireball.
My hair-on-fire story is from about 1962, when consumer laws were more lax than now and children were allowed to smoke at pretty much any age. I had a flattop haircut that was propped up with a heavy coat of Butch Wax, and I smoked. My 3 y.o. logic was I was smart, adults were smart, adults smoked, therefore I should also smoke. I was lighting my filter king before bedtime and got the lighter too close to my hair and my head went up just like MJ in the Pepsi commercial because that brand of Butch Wax was flammable. I stopped smoking and never smoked again.
I’m going to hazard a guess that this had never occurred to Pohl because most Echoes do their early training underwater and accidental heat flashes get dissipated well before they can become an Accident.
Do they have a lesser sense of smell?
Because with that much hair burned off you would think she would really smell it. Todd ought to be able to smell it in the other room.
Maybe they have trouble smelling burnt stuff since it’s so hard to burn stuff underwater.
Maybe with Echo fire the proteins get changed into something less fragrant.
Well she’s lucky she doesn’t have earlobes outside her skull…
Amanda is very lucky and it looks like she knows it too.
Well…. Something tells me that Andi is gonna have to introduce Selkie to her stylist.
This is how the daughter of a friend of mine ended up rockin’ a cute, stylish, offset bob with a shaved side.
😬 Fwumsh, indeed… She distinctly said she felt heat. She’s not gone I to shock has she???
Rebel sidecut time? lets go.
I… am hoping that Selkie fwooshed herself and Amanda is just stunned.
Ironically enough, I caught part of my ponytail with a lit candle yesterday. Didn’t lose that much hair, luckily.
When I was a wee small child – I think fourth grade, so I would be about their age – the power went off. So mama got out candles. And I was attempting to read. I had the book close to the candle and my head down close to the book so I could see – candles don’t put out all that much light. When — what the heck is that smell? And why is my head getting warm? 😀
A cousin of my mom’s once had a turkey just in a tin foil roasting pan (not set in anything more solid) and accidentally spilled some grease when pulling it out. Fortunately she only just singed off her eyebrows.
I once was trying to light a wooden match over a sink, only to have the match break in half as soon as it finally lit. The lit part went flying into a basket of towels. Fortunately it didn’t like flying right after it lit up, and just left some charcoal on the towels without burning anything as the air transit put it out.
I once got an accidental haircut by burning off the end of my braid. My mom didn’t know and said it looked good. XD
I’m just gonna assume that “Pyrrhic” is *Pohl* using the wrong word (because English is his second language), and not Dave.
And yet they were kind of pyrrhic noises.
No it’s probably me. Chose it for the double usage of the visual similarity to Pyre or Pyro, and the meaning ‘victory achieved at great loss’.
Because she burned her hair off.
I’m smort.
“Pyrrhus” does literally mean “fiery” or “flammable”. As a name (for instance, the guy who achieved a victory at great loss) it probably refers to red hair.
Specifically, a guy who picked a fight with the Romans, and who found that they could absorb costly defeats more than he could absorb costly victories.
Hey, I’ve got a relevant story! (Don’t worry, nobody gets hurt.) This was in the mid-to-late 90s when my brother and I were both teenagers.
On this fateful day we were trying to start a small campfire to grill something or other. Mom had given me one of her cheap disposable lighters to get it started. Thing is, it was nearly out of fuel, so I was just standing there with a piece of tinder in one hand and the lighter in the other, getting nothing but sparks.
Josh hollered over to me, “oh, just throw it in.” So I threw the tinder and the lighter into the fire pit.
Remember how I said the lighter was nearly out of fuel? That became relevant a few minutes later. Josh had managed to get the fire started, and was stirring up the contents of the pit with a piece of rebar, when suddenly I heard a noise. It was less “fwumsh” and more “poomf”.
I turned around and all I could see was a tiny mushroom cloud rising up out of the pit… where my brother’s face had been… my brother’s now eyebrowless face. The butane left in the lighter was enough to pop and make a small fireball.
He whooped my butt for that one.
on the plus side, they are one step closer to being able to fry up snacks on command.
also, would that kind of fire Potentially help with warming up in winter?
I would say the absolute best interpretation of Amanda is expression is “oh fuck“
…Well, at least now you have different haircut to Tehk.
Selkie got a fiery haircut.
dave no! i know that’s your default haircut, but try to keep it in! think of the children, dave! dave? dave! DAAAVEEEE!?!?!?!?!?!
He left for FIVE SECONDS
My hair-on-fire story is from about 1962, when consumer laws were more lax than now and children were allowed to smoke at pretty much any age. I had a flattop haircut that was propped up with a heavy coat of Butch Wax, and I smoked. My 3 y.o. logic was I was smart, adults were smart, adults smoked, therefore I should also smoke. I was lighting my filter king before bedtime and got the lighter too close to my hair and my head went up just like MJ in the Pepsi commercial because that brand of Butch Wax was flammable. I stopped smoking and never smoked again.
Boy do I have a comic for you. https://thepunchlineismachismo.com/archives/comic/sometimes-trendy-james-dean-hair-just-isnt-worth-it
Selkie, I’m pretty sure accidentally turning yourself into a frog or newt or rat is more of a human magic accident than a sarnothi magic accident.
I’m going to hazard a guess that this had never occurred to Pohl because most Echoes do their early training underwater and accidental heat flashes get dissipated well before they can become an Accident.
that makes perfect sense