Fifty years ago today, on May 27, 1962, the town of Centralia, Pennsylvania was tidying up for Memorial Day celebrations. As part of the clean-up activities, the fire department set the town's landfill ablaze. Unfortunately, the fire ignited a coal outcropping at the landfill, which quickly spread into the vast network of Anthracite coal mines beneath the homes and businesses of Centralia. The fire is still burning today and will probably burn for another century. What does this have to do with astronomy? Absolutely nothing, but it does make interesting reading. For an astronomy tie-in, we could re-title this posting "Man Sets Planet Ablaze."