“The expression ‘wet blanket’, which means you’re killjoy or party pooper, comes from a tragedy that happened in the ballet world. Emma Livry, the last of the romantic ballerinas, refused to have her tutu treated with fire retardent and it caught fire from one of the gas lamps on stage. She died from the burns. After that they kept wet blankets just off stage in case any other ballerinas caught fire.” (Greg Zuccolo)