The Double Dangerous Book for Boys. Conn Iggulden

before the flame is out. Probably.

      2

       MATCH AND MATCH, OR MATCH AND CANDLE

      This is fiddly, but nice when it works. When you blow out a candle or a match, a line of smoke rises in a curling grey/white line. That line can be set on fire, so that the flame travels back down and relights the candle or match below.

      This could easily take half a dozen attempts. We suggest you never try this on a date, or at a formal dinner table. Not because of fumes or setting something on fire. It just might suggest you are not completely focused on the event.

      Courtesy of the author

      3

       THE FIRE SNAKE

      This next one is pretty spectacular, though the main ingredients can be found in most kitchens. Now, it can be done indoors, in theory. It smells quite pleasant, like burned sugar or toasted marshmallows. It does involve flame and considerable heat, however, so there is always a chance you will burn the house down. Outdoors on a windless day might be a better idea. You may have seen versions of it in indoor fireworks sets. We’ll call it the Ram’s Horn, or possibly the Dragon’s Tail. Or the Fire Snake.

      You’ll need some ordinary sand, lighter fluid and a kitchen cereal bowl. The bowl will get hot, so stand it on something solid, like a piece of tile. We used an old wooden chopping board.

      Courtesy of the author

      Fill the bowl almost to the brim with the sand and pack it down. Scoop out the centre, or mould the sand so the centre is lower than the edges. Take 10g (⅓oz) of bicarbonate of soda (ordinary baking soda) and mix it with 40g (1⅓oz) of ordinary white sugar. Use a cup or any container for the mixture.

      Squirt lighter fluid onto the sand until it is dark and wet with it. Be generous – it’s not easy or advisable to add more later. When you have drenched the sand in the bowl, pour in the mixture of baking soda and sugar – doing your best to keep it to the centre of the bowl. The ideal is a cone shape. Narrower cones will create longer snakes – or horns. Or dragon’s tails.

      With a match, touch a flame to the lighter fluid. There is no going back from this point. What happens will take up to half an hour. The heat will ignite the mixture. A snake (or possibly a ram’s horn) of thick black ash rises slowly out of the bowl and begins to curl on itself. The ash is actually cool to the touch, but the bowl is not, so be careful not to get burned poking at it.

      You’ll be able to get different widths of snake (or tail) with different cone diameters of the baking powder/sugar mix, but keep the same ratio of 1:4 as it works well.

      Courtesy of the author

      After half an hour, the bubbling comes to an end. By then, the ash should be about eighteen inches to two feet long (45–60cm). It is a thing of awe.

      Courtesy of the author

      The ash is formed from carbon dioxide released when the baking soda is heated – the burning sugar caramelises and creates the ash, while the baking powder inflates it. When the flames have gone out, you can usually lift the entire snake (or dragon’s tail) away from the bowl. Take it outside if you are overcome with the desire to squish it, however.

       REGIMENTS of the BRITISH ARMY

      It seems to us that there is a certain quiet pleasure in knowing things. Whether it is that the United Kingdom has 102 counties: from Cornwall to Antrim in Northern Ireland; or that the UK has 48 police forces, including the British Transport Police and the Civil Nuclear Constabulary. The accumulation of knowledge is one of life’s subtle joys. Here, for that reason, is a list of British Army regiments, correct at the time of writing. These things do change, of course. Most of these regiments were formed from one or more older ones, either to reduce costs or to answer modern requirements of warfare, reconnaissance, defence and peacekeeping roles. For reasons of space, we have been able to include only a few of the cap badges and mottos. For those who would like more information, we recommend Charles Heyman’s excellent British Army Guide, which is produced each year.

      The total for Army, Navy and Royal Air Force is approximately 150,000 serving men and women. Of these, 84,000 are in the British Army.

       CAVALRY

       THE HOUSEHOLD CAVALRY

      Life Guards, and Blues and Royals. Formed in 17th century by King Charles II. Current Commander-in-Chief: Queen Elizabeth II. (On operations, they become the Household Cavalry Regiment and the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment – armoured fighting vehicles.)

       1ST THE QUEEN’S DRAGOON GUARDS

      Light armoured cavalry vehicles. Amalgamated from two 1685 regiments in 1959. Dragoons were originally mounted infantry who would dismount to fight, but became light cavalry units. The origin of the name could be from draconarius, a Roman standard-bearer. Alternatively, they were named after the short muskets, or ‘dragons’, carried by horse soldiers.

       THE ROYAL SCOTS DRAGOON GUARDS

      Formed in 1971 by amalgamation of ancient regiments. Through one of them, the Royal Scots Greys, this is the oldest cavalry line regiment in the British Army. Victorious at Waterloo against Napoleon.

       THE ROYAL DRAGOON GUARDS

      Formed in 1992 from the 4th Royal Irish Dragoon Guards, the 5th Dragoon Guards, the 6th Inniskilling Dragoons and the 7th Dragoon Guards, regiments dating back to 1685–1689. Served in Iraq and deployed to Afghanistan in 2010. Motto: QUIS SEPARABIT – ‘Who shall separate us?’

       THE QUEEN’S ROYAL HUSSARS

      Formed in 1993 from the Queen’s Own and the Royal Irish. Challenger 2 tanks. Winston Churchill joined the Hussars as a young man.

       THE ROYAL LANCERS

      (Queen Elizabeth’s Own). Raised in 1715, they are the last regiment to retain the word ‘Lancers’ – referring to the ancient weapon of armoured knights. Today, they are a modern armoured cavalry reconnaissance regiment, using tracked fighting vehicles. Motto: DEATH OR GLORY.

       THE KING’S ROYAL HUSSARS

      First raised in 1715. Modern armoured regiment, using Challenger 2 tanks and Scimitar reconnaissance vehicles to seek out and destroy the enemy.

       THE LIGHT DRAGOONS

      Uses Jackal 2 armoured vehicles. Originally formed in 1759 as a fast, light cavalry unit. Took part in the Charge of the Light Brigade in the Crimean War.

       1ST ROYAL TANK REGIMENT

      Formed when tanks were invented by the British in WWI, this is the oldest tank regiment in the world. Uses Challenger 2 tanks as well as Scimitar reconnaissance vehicles.

       INFANTRY

      The five Foot Guard regiments all have a dual role – active service in war, and protection and guard duty in royal palaces