| The first fireworks were
actually green bamboo that were thrown into fires to
scare spirits away in ancient China, called "pas
chuk." |
 |
|
Placing gun powder into bamboo stalks and then throwing
them onto a fire to be ignited produced a louder and
more powerful bang; hence the firecracker was born.
|
|
| According to
tradition, Marco Polo brought this technology back to
Europe. |
|
| Fireworks were soon applied
to warfare by attaching them to arrows. The first such
use, circa 1200 A.D., involved placing powder into paper
tubes with a fuse or a trail of gunpowder wrapped in
tissue paper that was attached to the arrows. |
|
| At religious
festivals Italians made plaster figures that spewed
fireworks from their eyes and mouths. |
|
| Settlers brought
fireworks to the U.S. during 1600s. |
|
| To avoid blurry pictures,
brace your camera on a railing, the back of a chair
or a table, or against a column or tree. This helps
keep the camera from moving and blurring the pictures.
Or use a pocket or full-size tripod. |
|
| Captain John Smith set off
fireworks in Jamestown in 1608, enjoying a bit of English
popular entertainment and impressing Native Americans. |
|
| Fireworks became very popular
in Great Britain during the reign of Queen Elizabeth
I. William Shakespeare mentions fireworks in his works,
and fireworks were so much enjoyed by the Queen herself
that she created a "Fire Master of England."
King James II was so pleased with the fireworks display
that celebrated his coronation that he knighted his
Fire Master. |
|
| 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. |
|
| An aerial shell has 2 fuses.
The user lights the external fuse, and a second, internal
fuse burns as the shell flies up igniting the burst
or break. |
|
| In 1996, a string of firecrackers
were lit that lasted 22 hours for the Chinese New Year
in Hong Kong. |
|
| Static electricity in synthetic
clothing can ignite fireworks. Those who make fireworks
wear cotton all the way down to their underwear. |
|
| In today's public display
shows, computers are used to control the launching of
the fireworks and the synchronization of the aerial
bursts with music. |
