\n\n\n\n\n\nFriends, a poll: have you ever set yourself on fire, set one of your friends on fire, or been around while people were catching on fire as a side effect of avoiding boredom as a teenager?
Only a little.
\n
this is part of the story I tell about how quality of life has really improved in the last few decades
that you remember, we always used to be taught \u201cstop drop and roll!\u201d as an anti-fire technique
the thing being that clothing, especially warm but not heavy clothing, with natural fibers and a raised nap to catch an insulating layer of air
was flammable as HELL
stop drop and roll was for the case where your clothing caught fire and served as a wick, it\u2019s not like you could roll your way out of a structure fire
anyway the memory is a friend\u2019s cousin in this would\u2019ve been the early 90s wrapped himself in three layers of clothing for a family barbecue at a national park, with the outer layer dipped in gasoline
and lit himself on fire for a stunt and ran through the scene and there was this earnest accountant uncle there trying to take command like \u201cStop Drop & Roll, Stop Drop & Roll!\u201d
and the (cousin-of) friend would retell this story and we\u2019d all be curled over laughing, bcuz America\u2019s Funniest Home Videos was still new and we had a low bar for real-life slapstick
"}