The huge El Dorado wildfire burning in California reportedly started at a gender reveal party. Gender reveal parties are growing in popularity in the United States. The purpose is for parents-to-be to announce to family and friends the sex of their unborn child. The “reveal” is often done through colors: pink for a girl, and blue for a boy. People attending such a party might eat a cake filled with blue or pink frosting. Or the mother-to-be and her partner might open a big box full of either blue or pink balloons. Today, Americans are coming up with increasingly complex ways to announce the sex of their unborn child. The party that caused the El Dorado wildfire, for example, involved a smoking pyrotechnic device. For some people, gender reveal parties are fast becoming an important tradition. But critics say that more than a few parties have gotten too extreme.