4th of July Fireworks: Fun Facts You Never Knew

Firework shows are a common -- and expected -- part of any July 4th celebration. The bright colors in the night sky are enjoyable for people of all ages. Though you're probably familar with them, how much do you really know about fireworks?

From this website we found out:
• "The first fireworks were probably made in China out of green bamboo that was thrown into fire to scare spirits away. The story goes that a Chinese cook accidentally mixed three common kitchen ingredients (potassium nitrate, sulphur and charcoal) to make black powder and lighted it producing colorful flames. If the mixture was burned inside a bamboo shoot, there was a loud explosion."
• "The first recorded fireworks in England were at the wedding of Henry VII in 1486."
• "The chemical and powder recipes that pyrotechnicians use are h often handed down through generations in a family. The color, sound, and flight pattern of each shell depends on its design and on the blend of its chemical ingredients."
• A show of fireworks that lasts 25 minutes could take up to 100 hours of planning.
• The height at which a firework explodes is dependent on how the fireworks are packed and the size of the firework shell -- the lowest altitude, 300 feet, comes from a 3-inch shell, and a 12-inch shell can launch a firework that explodes at 1,300 feet.

This website tells us:
• "Fireworks were used for centuries in ancient Indian and Thai religious ceremonies. Some of the rockets were 8-10 feet long and were attached to bamboo sticks that were 40 feet high."
• "Hanabi" is the word for firework in Japanese. Its English translation in "fire-flower."
• Captain John Smith, the same one featured in the Pocahontas story, was the first person to set off a firework in the United States.
• The heat emited from three simultaneously-burning fireworks is equal to head that a blow-torch gives off.
• "The world's largest single firework was set off at a festival in Japan in 1988. The shell weighed over half a ton and the burst was over a kilometer across."

Information found here explains:
• Florence, Italy was the center of fireworks manufacturing in the 1400s. During that period, fireworks were not the main focus of an event, but just one effect in a celebration.
• Religious festivals in Italy featured plaster figures that spewed fireworks from their eyes and mouths. Similarly, when Anne Boleyn was thrown a coronation parade in 1533, there was a papier-mache dragon that belched fire.
• During the 1700s fancier displays gained favor with European royalty. French king Louis XV ordered elaborate fireworks displays at his castle, Versailles, and Russian czar Peter the Great hosted a five-hour show to celebrate after his son was born.
• "The multi-hued displays we know now began in the 1830s, when Italians added trace amounts of metals that burn at high temperatures, creating beautiful colors. Other additives also produced interesting effects. For example, calcium deepens colors, titanium makes sparks, and zinc creates smoke clouds."