Candles are a leading cause of home fires and fatalities. Soot on the walls and furnishings is unsightly, and may also be a sign of serious problems. It may also be unhealthy, as inhalation of minute particles of soot has been documented to cause health problems.
It is a popular misconception that the phenomenon of a total eclipse of the sun is a rare occurrence. Quite the contrary. Approximately once every 18 months (on average) a total solar eclipse is visible from some place on the Earthâs surface. That's two totalities for every three years.
And thatâs our Moon. (Looked at another way, total solar eclipses aren't rare; they occur roughly once every year or two somewhere on Earth. But any given spot on our planet's surface gets darkened by the Moon's shadow on average only once about every 400 years, so in that sense totality is indeed rare.)