UFO Sighted over Wisconsin?

What was this strange fiery object spotted in Wisconsin skies near Appleton on July 5, 2004? An out-of-control UFO? Part of a satellite or comet?

Actually, it's part of a Lindsay family Fourth of July tradition involving marshmallows skewered with sparklers. The basic idea is to impale a marshmallow with a sparkler such that the flame of the sparkler passes into one end of the marshmallow and out the other. The body of the sparkler itself is not visible in the photo, but is there and is being held by a human hand to the lower right of the photo.

For best results, we prefer using two sparklers side by side. For added fun, additional sparklers at other angles are added to make a tripod-like structure to suspend the marshmallow above the ground. (Safety note: do this on cement or pavement, at least 5 feet away from anything flammable.) One example is shown below, where the primary burn zone for the flames from the two primary sparklers is inside the marshmallow, resulting in jets of flame shooting out the back and front. Meanwhile, one of the side sparklers has also ignited. I'm not sure if this practice will make the Fourth of July more meaningful for my fellow Americans, but it may make somebody's life a little more worth living. Isn't that what blogging is all about?

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