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Make a wish and try not to catch fire

Xanatic*

Xanatic*

Antediluvian
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Mar 10, 2015
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I'm in a really good place right now.
When I was growing up, my mother wouldn't allow us to have candles on our birthday cakes. She claimed it was too dangerous, since our hair might catch fire. According to her, it happened all the time that kids showed up at the emergency room for that reason.
Has anyone here actually known such an event to happen or is it all a big lie? I may have missed out on a lot of wishes.
 
Xanatic* said:
When I was growing up, my mother wouldn't allow us to have candles on our birthday cakes. She claimed it was too dangerous, since our hair might catch fire. According to her, it happened all the time that kids showed up at the emergency room for that reason.
Has anyone here actually known such an event to happen or is it all a big lie? I may have missed out on a lot of wishes.
Click to expand...
Sounds like a porky pie.
 
I've not heard that one .. possibly only out of well intentioned young motherly concern ? .. did you have long/longer 70's type hair at the time ?
 
Apart from my sister none of us had long hair.
 
Xanatic* said:
When I was growing up, my mother wouldn't allow us to have candles on our birthday cakes. She claimed it was too dangerous, since our hair might catch fire. According to her, it happened all the time that kids showed up at the emergency room for that reason.
Has anyone here actually known such an event to happen or is it all a big lie? I may have missed out on a lot of wishes.
Click to expand...
Once the missus had some candles going and the cat walked too close and caught on fire.

Fortunately the cat was extinguished before any damage was done other than some burnt hair.
 
kamalktk said:
Once the missus had some candles going and the cat walked too close and caught on fire.

Fortunately the cat was extinguished before any damage was done other than some burnt hair.
Click to expand...

There's a pub near here called The Blazer, after an incident wherein a cinder flew out of a fire onto a cat's back and it ran though the bar yowling.
 
Haven't heard of any instances of kids' hair catching fire from birthday candles, but have seen several cases of hair and clothing catching fire from candles at churches and weddings.

Sounds like your mum was just watching out for you. Give her a call and say "thanks."
 
I'm sure Youtube will provide some evidence of it happening, but not with a frequency high enough to render the practise inherently dangerous. Was your Mum just too tight to buy candles?
 
It was at my Aunt's birthday party. She was drinking wine, and soon after she took a sip, she went to blow out the candles, the flame actually went towards her face!

It really was the weirdest thing! Instead of the flame bending away from her and going out as she blew, it bent towards her and didn't go out. Everybody saw it happen, and we were all as shocked as she was!

She wasn't hurt, though. She tried a second time, and the candle went out, like "normal".;)

Makes me wonder just how much wine she did drink?! :revelry:

(Edit to add; I've also witnessed two people and one cat involved in non-birthday candle related accidental, unsuccessful, self-immolation! All with no injuries, I might add.)
 
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i once witnessed a girl in a pub, out with her mates, lean over the table where there was a candle burning, which then ignited her hair - most likely because of hairspray?
the poor girl didnt know and all her friends could do was laugh, probably through the drink but even so..
i ran over and actually had to shout at her to make her realise what was happening.
Not quite the same thing but dangerous all the same
 
Xanatic* said:
my mother wouldn't allow us to have candles on our birthday cakes.
Click to expand...

It is the sort of story my parents might have invented for reasons of economy! :rofl:

Yet even my mum kept a little package of the candles in the tea-towel drawer. Did they come in dozens or twenty-fours? I feel a boring maths teaser coming on . . .

"If Mrs Wax has one child in 1963, another in the following year and twins in 1966, how many packs of birthday candles did she buy in a sale during 1965, if she next needed to buy a pack when the twins had beards?" :p
 
I've heard of cases of birthday wishes not coming true, from either defective candles or intervention of the kosmos, but no, I've never heard of candles attacking the birthday boy/gurl.
 
plastic wiganer said:
i once witnessed a girl in a pub, out with her mates, lean over the table where there was a candle burning, which then ignited her hair - most likely because of hairspray?
the poor girl didnt know and all her friends could do was laugh, probably through the drink but even so..
i ran over and actually had to shout at her to make her realise what was happening.
Not quite the same thing but dangerous all the same
Click to expand...

Reminds me of the Michael Jackson/Pepsi advert incident, when Jackson carried on dancing after his hair caught fire. The flames and heat move upwards so the victim might not feel the pain right away. It might look pretty horrifying but if it's caught in time and put out there might be little scalp damage.

(This wasn't the case with Jackson of course, who suffered serious burns. As seen on film of the accident, the staff had to catch and overpower him and they tried to beat out the fire instead of running for a fire extinguisher.)
 
yeah i remember that incident with Michael Jackson. regarding the girl in the pub, i was just shocked that her mates were sat there laughing at her while her head was in flames.
 
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