@anon85657780, there is a diagram in the Wanikani guide (not the FAQ) which shows when an item is burned. The diagram is out of date. One of the apprentice steps is shortened.
(Since I got evicted from the Regulars forums, I cannot post the most up to date list of stages for you.)
| SRS Level | Next Level | Total Wait | Review |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apprentice 1 | 4h | - | Lesson |
| Apprentice 2 | 8h | 4h | 1 |
| Apprentice 3 | ~1d | 12h | 2 |
| Apprentice 4 | ~2d | 1d 11h | 3 |
| Guru 1 | ~1w | 3d 10h | 4 |
| Guru 2 | ~2w | 1w 3d 9h | 5 |
| Master | ~1M | 3w 3d 8h | 6 |
| Enlightened | ~4M | 7w 5d 7h | 7 |
| Burned | - | 24w 6d 6h | 8 |
In addition to the helpful answers above, it comes from the phrase “burned into memory” (or ‘burnt’ if you prefer).
Koichi talks about it in one of the podcasts about allegedly early kanji writing to the gods written on turtle shells by burning the characters into the shell.
Don’t use duolingo
lol…Actually I was just covering myself because that podcast sounds like the opening monologue of a late night talk show where there’s actual news items and then made up stuff for comedy sake. Since I don’t know what’s legit and what’s Koichi making up funny stuff, I threw in the word “allegedly” just so I wouldn’t have to research it. Thanks for the examples.
Why? Seems legit!
It does seem legit. I actually believed the part about the burned turtle shells. I wasn’t trying to discredit the podcast. I just said “allegedly” so no one would tell me to check my facts or that he was joking. I didn’t mean to imply it’s not true, just that I hadn’t verified it, so I said allegedly. But I’m glad to have someone back up the podcast with facts so now I know. 
It says “Turtles are safe”, not "You are safe"
Burning turtles is good for you but bad for the turtles.
I’ve answered about Duolingo, sure WaniKani is legit and great! 
P.S. Dunno how the quotation system works here, I just used a black arrow, thought it should be enough…
Highlight and click “Quote”
Highlight and click reply
Reply and click the quote button
Use > to to start a blockquote
/ᐠ｡ ꞈ ｡ᐟ\ nyaa.
Interesting. I wonder how many people stay with it long enough to get something burned.
If they don’t they’re missing out on the fun of big numbers.
Don’t say stuff like this without giving an explanation.
Indeed! 甲骨文 or こうこつぶん So cool!
I say this too but just realized it’s an oxymoron XD
少ない例外だから日本語が好きんです
My point was that it doesn’t help you understand what an ichidan verb is to just say it ends in eru or iru when there are bunches of common ones that don’t end that way.
Ichidan verbs do end that way, but it’s not what makes them ichidan verbs.
Thanks for all the explanations (and detours). I looked up the Wanikani guide, and indeed there is a diagram where items do get burned. Alas not a word on burning in it.
So burning items is good for me, not so for the poor turtles…
Koichi talks about it in one of the podcasts about allegedly early kanji writing to the gods written on turtle shells by burning the characters into the shell.