Pyro Facts
We've crawled all over the web looking for interesting fireworks facts and trivia, and this is what we came up with.
- Cherry bombs were deemed illegal in 1966.
- The first multi-shot repeater imported into the United States was the Flying Dragon & Jumping Tiger
- Red smoke balls are prohibited in California.
- In Mexico the tall towers decorated with fireworks and built for fiestas are called castillos.
- There is a city named Fireworks in Massachusetts.
- In 1996, a string of firecrackers were lit that lasted 22 hours for the Chinese new year in Hong Kong.
- The group Alabama has a song on their 1985 album, 40 hr week, called "fireworks".
- An aerial shell has 2 fuses. A fuse you light and a second fuse which burns as the shell flies up igniting the burst.
- New Castle, Pennsylvania proclaims to be the "Fireworks capital of America".
- The first fireworks were actually green bamboo that were thrown into fires to scare spirits away in ancient China, called pas chuk.
- It is believed that gunpowder was discovered accidently by a Chinese alchemist who mixed sulfer and salt peter (potassium nitrate)over a fire. Named huo yao (fire chemical)
- Placing gun powder into bamboo stalks and then throwing them onto a fire to be ignited. This gave a louder and more powerful bang, the firecracker was born.
- Fireworks were soon applied to warfare attaching them to arrows. Started by placing powder into paper tubes with a fuse of a trail of gunpowder wrapped in tissue paper(1200 ad).
- The "ground rat" was a tube open on one end - gas would shoot out of the end propelling it around randomly. This idea led to placing guidance fins to straighten the flight path. These were the first rockets.
- Settlers brought fireworks to the U.S. during 1600's.
- The first independence day fireworks celebration was in 1777.
- Static Electricity in synthetic clothing can ignite fireworks. Those who make fireworks wear cotton all the way down to their underwear.
- In todays public shows, computers are used to control ignition of fireworks and synchronize aerial bursts with music.
- 30 years ago fireworks shows lasted on average over an hour, in comparison to todays shows which last approximately 20 minutes.
- Fireworks use in the United States rose 2 and a half times from 1990 to 1999, while during that time fireworks related injuries went significantly down.
- Most dangerous fireworks related tragedy occured on May 16, 1770 during the marriage of King Louis XVI to Maria Antoinete after the show was a stampede where approximately 800 people where killed.
- The Arabs call rockets Chinese arrows.
- The earliest recorded use of gunpowder in England, and probably the western world, is by the Franciscan monk Roger Bacon.
- Legend has it that Marco Polo brought this new accidental invention to the West from one of his many trips to China and other eastern countries.
- Fireworks became very popular during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Shakespeare mentions them and they were so much enjoyed by the Queen herself that she created a "Fire Master of England". James II was so pleased with his coronation display that he knighted his firemaster.
- Italians first manufactured fireworks in Europe.
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