Fireworks were first invented in China over 2000 years ago. The first firecrackers were chunks of green bamboo, when put with fire it causes the bamboo to make loud cracking sounds. Because of the way Bamboo grows, it allows for air pockets to form inside the plant’s segments. Once heated up, the air inside the bamboo expands which causes it to crack through the sides which produces the cracking sound.
The first 4th of July celebration was in 1777, which at the time the U.S. was in the middle of the Revolutionary War and the outcome was still uncertain, however a huge firework display gave everyone a sense of hope and was very successful.
At first, the only colours that could be produced by fireworks was orange and white. However some Italian scientists managed to create more colours by adding different types of salt into it.
The word for firework in Japanese, ‘hanabi’, which actually means “fire-flower”.
A rocket can reach speeds of 150 miles per hour, however the shell can reach as high as 200 metres.
A sparkler burns at a temperature over 15 times the boiling point of water. Three sparklers burning together generate the same heat as a blowtorch. Sparklers alone cause more injuries than any other type of firework.
You see the explosion of a firework before hearing it because sound travels at 761 miles per hour, but light travels at 671 million mph.
Most firework related injuries happen at family or private parties and roughly half of all injuries are to children under the age of 16. The most common place for injuries from a firework is to hands, eyes and face.
The first recorded fireworks in England were at the wedding of King Henry VII in 1486. Over 90% of the fireworks sold in Britain still originate from China.
The world record for the most rockets set off all at once was set at the Battle of Flowers Parade in Jersey on 15th August 1997 when 39,210 rockets were launched at the push of one button!
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