SeeCalifornia.com

How does the 4th of July 2012 stack up to others?  Here are some facts and trivia to chew on along with you hamburger or tri-tip:

4th of July Trivia

• Nearly half of Americans celebrating the 4th of July this year– 115 million people– plan to attend a fireworks or community celebration.
• Over 90% of California cities and towns offer some sort of celebration, usually with a picnic and fireworks show. Here are a few events.
• Less than one out of five Americans will attend a parade.
• People over age 65 and those living in California and the West are the largest sectors deciding NOT to celebrate the 4th of July.
• Approx. 30 million Americans will brave the traffic this year to escape town.
• When asked  if the price of gas will impact their spending for the 4th of July holiday, 62.9%  said no.

Fireworks Trivia

• Disneyland is the largest  consumer of fireworks and also the largest polluter. Disneyland invented an ignition technology using compressed air rather than gunpowder to reduce harmful air emissions, and the technology has been shared with fireworks companies and the public free.
• China produces the most fireworks, though Californians purchase their fireworks from a variety of sources, including Mexico and even the United States. Chinese invented fireworks  over 1,400 years ago, first to scare away evil spirits.
• America’s early settlers introduced fireworks and black ash to celebrate important events long before the American Revolutionary War.
• In 1789, George Washington’s inauguration was accompanied by a fireworks display.
• Sound effects from fireworks include bangs, booms, crackles, hummers and whistles
• Visual effects include spiders, rings, crossettes, horsetails, kamuros and palm shells
• Colors come from chemicals strontium & lithium (red); copper (blue); charcoal (gold); titanium (white); barium (green); potassium (purple)

They look like candy or something sweet and edible. The sound they make is like a small bomb. You can throw them in trash cans and blow the lids off. You can blow up small containerized objects if you light up a cherry bomb or M80 and throw it in. I learned all this when I was a kid.

For those who remember the days in which big fireworks sounds really shook the town legally, you may be scratching your head and wondering why you can’t buy these “bombs” but are still hearing them in the neighborhood. Most of us know the answer sweet & simple–Mexico! Just because the U.S. makes something illegal doesn’t mean that you won’t find it. For a time liquor was banned in the U.S. but people didn’t quit drinking.

If you are looking for big firecrackers– M-80’s, cherry bombs, Silver Salutes, quarter sticks, and block busters, the U.S. Federal Government issued a law banning all of these fireworks products in the 1960’s. A deadline of 1972 was given to allow anyone that had an inventory of these items to be able to sell it before the ban went into effect.  It is also illegal to sell the components in “kit” form to build these items, though you will find easy, how-to guides on Youtube. An exception was granted for agricultural and marine use, so these items still exist as “pest control” items, so you may want to check with your local agricultural supply store for more information on these items.

Legally sold in the U.S. are firecrackers that look like the old fireworks, but contain only 50mg of flash powder (the maximum amount of flash powder allowed under Federal law). The original M80’s contained more than 2 grams (2000mg) of flash powder. You can still find the original M80’s and cherry bombs in Mexico and some other foreign countries. However, they cannot be legally imported into the United States.

Note: Fireworks are not without their ill effects and polluting qualities. Here is a story we wrote in 2011, exploring the ups & downs of fireworks.