Spearing An Egg With A Sparkler Is Both Mesmerizing And Scary

a sparkler in front of an American flag
a sparkler in front of an American flag - Dny59/Getty Images

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you speared a sparkler through an egg and lit it? Neither have we, but someone on TikTok did — and the results are pretty surprising. Before diving into this bizarre experiment, it must be said that before you think about trying this at home, it's important to be aware of the safety hazards involved. Do not consume any food that has come into contact with firework particulates, and do not light fireworks in your house.

With those disclaimers out of the way, the video of the sparkler passing through the egg is mesmerizing and a little scary. Conventional wisdom says a spark or flame passing through the liquid center would instantly be doused. However, it keeps burning through the egg. Not only does the sparkler not get snuffed out by the yolk or the tight space in the shell, but it also creates a luminescent red glow that illuminates the egg like a Christmas bulb until the spark emerges from the other side. But what happens to the yolk and egg white after the spark has passed through the center? You might be thinking this is a hack for the perfect fried egg — albeit in an ovular shape — but you'd be wrong.

Read more: Big Mistakes Everyone Makes When Frying Eggs

What Happens To The Egg After The Spark Goes Out?

egg cracked in half
egg cracked in half - Sahri Romadhoni M J/Shutterstock

The first noteworthy thing in the follow-up video to this experiment is that much of the egg white gets pushed out of the opposite end of the egg as the spark first passes through. Curiously, most of the egg yolk does not, although what does stay inside of the shell gets partially cooked.

Fire needs oxygen to burn, so how does the sparkler get enough of it to stay lit? Sparklers are coated with a chemical called potassium chlorate, which becomes potassium chloride and oxygen as it burns. Since the sparkler is effectively its own oxygenator, it stays lit as it passes through the inner liquid of the egg and oxygen-poor shell. When asked by a commenter why he conducted this experiment, the creator responded, "It was raining... What else is there to do?!" Thanks to his boredom, we now know what happens when you spear an egg with a lit sparkler.

Read the original article on Mashed.