13. “Snap-Dragon” was a huge fire hazard.
There is a very good reason why very few people play “snap-dragon” anymore. This game was developed in the 16th century, and it continued on for hundreds of years. Party guests fill up a metal bowl or pan with brandy, and drop raisins into the bottom of the bowl. Then, the brandy is lit on fire. Usually, the flame is so hot, it turns blue. The object of the game is to stick your hands into the burning brandy and get the raisins and dried plums from the bottom. Apparently, the whole point of the game was to enjoy watching their friends look like demonic spirits who could pick up blue flaming raisins and pop them in their mouths.
In 1879, a writer named Robert Chambers wrote a poem about the game, and there is also a reference to a creature called a “snap-dragon” in Alice in Wonderland. Today, most people would never play this game, but there is a group of adventure-seeking people playing on YouTube during a Halloween party. They admit that their hands and wrists have been burned, but they don’t seem to mind.