A birthday wish in Germany almost came with third-degree burns after a family stuck fireworks on top of a cake.
The footage, now racking up views online, shows 20-year-old Askin Acar leaning over his cake while relatives set up what everyone assumed were standard sparklers. Seconds later, the room filled with flames and screams as the “candles” shot off like a pyrotechnics demo in the middle of the dining room. Everyone is running and ducking to avoid the flying, flaming shrapnel.
“At first I was shocked, me and my brother both,” Acar told NeedToKnow. “It felt a bit like a dream because I was not even thinking anymore, my body just reacted on its own like in a movie scene.”
Family Celebrated a Birthday With Candles—Except They Were Fireworks
The clip shows him and his brother diving under the table while the fireworks continue to blast for what felt like forever. Guests can be heard panicking and covering their faces as sparks ricochet around the room and smoke fills the air.
“The big fireworks started and I got really scared,” Acar said. “It felt like a little bit of torture but also hilarious at the same time, a mix of panic and disbelief that this was actually happening.”
Nobody seems sure how a box of fireworks ended up doubling as cake décor, but online commenters had plenty of things to say. “Birthday or worst-day,” one wrote. Another shrugged, “That’s why women live longer than men, right there.” Some even joked that the family had accidentally invented a new genre of party entertainment.
The video has already topped 100,000 views and joins a growing genre of birthday party disasters. Just last year, a group of friends in Brazil lit what they thought were cake sparklers at a restaurant. They ended up with fireworks going off between the bread baskets and fellow diners running for cover. That clip pulled in millions of views and was replayed across multiple platforms.
Acar says he can laugh about it now, but in the moment, he admits he was “really freaking out.” His 20th birthday will probably be remembered less for the cake and more for the fact that his family accidentally staged a fireworks show in the living room.
Accidents like this make great internet content. They also prove that before you light up the dessert table, maybe check the box twice.
The post Family Accidentally Lit Fireworks Instead of Birthday Candles—Again appeared first on VICE.