My Friend Tony part 2

This weekend is the Fourth of July weekend, and with it comes the use of fireworks.

Fireworks were first invented by the Chinese back in 200 BC (give or take a couple of years) and it was believed to have been entirely by accident when bamboo was placed in a fire.

Around 800 AD, fireworks (or firecrackers) were refined by an alchemist who was actually hoping to find the secret to eternal life. He basically created gunpowder--which, placed within bamboo, became firecrackers.

America celebrated its first anniversary as a nation with fireworks, although they were not the multi-colored displays that we're now used to.

The fireworks that we know and love were first used in the 1830s, when the Italians added different sorts of metals that created the multi-colored starbursts.

If you're seeing a fireworks display this weekend, have fun. but if you're personally handling fireworks, please be very careful. It's no accident that fireworks became the basis for all weapons used by militaries all over the world. Fireworks can be very dangerous while still being very beautiful.