» Have you ever started a fire?

Foolish Experiment
When I was at university I decided to see if my cheap nylon curtains were flammable. I did this by holding a lighter to the bottom of them. They were very flammable.

Another time I set fire to my carpet. I'd heard that the shoe polish is easier to apply if you melt it. So I duly lit my Kiwi polish tin, which co-incidentally, is very flammable, and promptly burnt my finger. Putting the lid back on the pot, thinking that that would extinguish the flames, I went to run my finger under cold water. After about 1 minute I began to smell that tell-tale smell of burning. Ran back into the room to find the newspaper I was polishing my shoes on was on fire. Evidently I didn't but the lid back on the pot firmly enough. 30 seconds of frantic goose-stepping on the paper soon put the newspaper out. Totally managed to melt the carpet. Story has a happy ending as I managed to claim a new carpet back by telling Endsleigh that I'd knocked over a candle. Don't think they pay out for people being stupid dicks.
(Fri 5th Mar 2004, 13:13, More)