My Sardinian son-in-law told me that when he was a lad, he and his friends would use a mix of kerosene and water, which when ignited would send a an empty food can into the air. They raised their funds to buy the kerosene by collecting scrap metal and selling it. One day they collected a lot of scrap metal and bought a lot of kerosene. Their minds then turned to a bigger can and they quickly acquired a large oil drum. Preparations were made and when someone had finally been persuaded to ignite the charge the oil drum was sent skywards. It was only when the drum had become a mere speck in the sky did they think that it would have to come down - somewhere - and decided to disperse rapidly.