Normally, What The Heck images are somewhat hard to figure out. But this one's not so tough, given the holiday coming up. I chose it not for the mystery of what's in the image, but for its mysterious placement on a government web site.
You know how the government often says, "Don't do this obviously stupid thing because it might kill you"? Now, how often do you see a picture associated with said deadly activity?
This image sits along side a reminder from the Consumer Products Safety Commission to "Never have any portion of your body directly over a fireworks device when lighting the fuse." Great advice! And now you know what it looks like if you're stupid enough to do it. The photographer — and the fate of the person who lit the fuse (is it a real person or a fireworks test dummy?) — is unknown.
Got a strange or interesting photo related to science, nature or technology? What the Heck, send it to me, and maybe I'll use it. Or follow me on Twitter, or Facebook.