Fireworks
Wednesday, 07.04.07 @ 12:06AM 
Happy Independence Day, all you Americans! For this year’s holiday post, I decided to focus almost entirely on fireworks, with the exception of the Star Spangled Banner at the end of this post. For more varied links, plus several places you can find virtual fireworks, you can consult last year’s post on the Fourth of July. For your holiday music, check out nine versions of Stars and Stripes Forever, including one with the words, and one on hand fart. Right here, you can enjoy fireworks, watching a video or reading up on them before dark, which is when the fireworks start. When I had a radio job, I'd be spending all day answering the phone and it was always the same "What time do the fireworks start?" 9:30. "That's kinda late, isn't it?" Duh, that's when it's dark! You want fireworks before sunset? You'd think everyone would know by now... there are fireworks displays on every neighborhood, right in the middle of the streets, every night from dark thirty til after midnight. Driving after dark is a real adventure this week, since you never know how many of those shells you drive over are still hot. But considering we are about six weeks behind in rainfall, no one wants to set them off in the yard.
New York Fireworks
Some folks I know will be celebrating the Fourth of July by launching obsolete or non-working electronics into the air via explosions and then shooting them. Yes, the Computer Trap Shoot, and it will be videotaped again this year. They shot my old iMac last year, and that video is available on YouTube for this year’s holiday. It could use some more stars, though (hint hint).
The history of Fourth of July Fireworks.
Try this game: Boomshine. It looks really simplistic, but it will eat up your time. Nice music, too! (Thanks, Actor212!)
Fireworks for your wedding.
Fireworks Safety
Nine videos of fireworks gone wrong.
Graphic images of fireworks injuries. (via Neatorama)
The American Pyrotechnics Association has a list of state laws governing fireworks. Click on your state before you do something illegal!
Don’t store your firecrackers in a locked safe. They aren’t that valuable. (via Fark)
Fireworks can really freak a dog out, so think about Rover when you make your plans.
Launching a bottle rocket from the mouth. (via YesButNoButYes)
Launching rockets from your butt is so common now, there’s an entire collection of such videos. But it’s still quite unsafe! Especially if you’re watching at work.
30,000 matchheads ignited at once. W00t!
In this fireworks game, you detonate the shells in mid-air by color. You won’t score well if you’re color-blind.
Consult this periodic table to see what elements are used in fireworks, and for what purpose.
Tips for taking photographs of fireworks.
Patriotic Popeye
Previously at Miss Cellania: The Fourth of July
Thought for today: The very existence of flamethrowers proves that sometime, somewhere, someone said to themselves, “You know, I want to set those people over there on fire, but I’m just not close enough to get the job done.” -George Carlin
PS: Please go by and leave a comment for Carlo in Iraq.
humor jokes video funny games fireworks pyrotechnics Fourthof July Independence Day holiday
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Reader Comments (7)
Happy 4th Of July
Hot bot rocket launch squaddie gets bum deal!
by Conrad Murray — last modified 09-11-2006 13:51
The blue touchpaper was lit and everyone retired immediately, just as the firework code recommends. That is, except for the squaddie who had recently returned home from a tour of duty in Iraq, and thought that Bonfire Night needed enlivening.
The soldier was on all fours with his trousers down and a certain part of his anatomy pointing at the stars with a Black Cat Thunderbolt rocket firmly in place.
The stunt, which mimicked a scene in the controversial film Jackass: The Movie, went off with a bang at the end of the display in Sunderland, but it backfired on the intrepid squaddie. The man, aged 22, ended up in his local hospital, where he is being treated for a scorched rectum and other injuries. In something of an under-statement, safety experts said yesterday that launching a rocket from the backside was a practice that contravened the firework code.
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23373879-details/Video:+Rocket+man+injured+firing+firework+from+his+bottom/article.do
Could I get arrested for that?
Nice to find a lady with a sense of humor on the web!