Fireworks have entranced humans for over 2000 years and continue to be a part of many celebrations. Join Katy and Laura as they go over the origin of fireworks and the science behind what creates those beautiful, loud explosions.
Happy Independence Day to all our American listeners! Because nothing says "America" like blowing stuff up...
Fireworks have entranced humans for over 2000 years and continue to be a part of many celebrations. Join Katy and Laura as they go over the origin of fireworks and the science behind what creates those beautiful, loud explosions.
Happy Independence Day to all our American listeners! Because nothing says "America" like blowing stuff up...
Hello and welcome to For The Love of Nature, a podcast where we tell you everything you need to know about nature, and probably more than you wanted to know. I'm Laura.
Katy:And I'm Katie, and it is Independence Day here in America. Yay. And so for everybody at else in our 75 other countries that listen to us, we're over. Here's another day. Yeah, just another day. But we're over here being a hooligans and, um, stuff blowing up stuff. And so that's what we're gonna talk about is fireworks. And so we're gonna be, yes. Talking about fireworks, a history of fireworks. The science behind fireworks, and I was so excited to do
Laura:this because that was one of my, like in eighth grade, we had to take a career aptitude test and mine was either a biologist. A stunt person or a pyro technician,
Katy:which all fit you so perfectly, like
Laura:none of that is shocking. Science and adrenaline junkie. Yeah, none of that is shocking whatsoever. I was like, finally I can do the pyro technician part of this.
Katy:I can let in my, let out my inner pyro. Woohoo. Like finally. All righty guys. So just like with a lot of these like random things we do, we, Laura and I kind of divided it up. I'm gonna go over the history of it. Laura's gonna go into the more of the science aspect of it. Yeah, so we're just gonna go ahead. I don't think this is gonna be a very super long episode, but again, it's another fun one for you guys. Yeah.
Laura:It'll be a little more in depth because of the, all the chemistry involved, I think. But I tra I, I promise I won't bore you today. It's not,
Katy:yeah, it's not super heavy chemistry. If it was super heavy chemistry, I'd have been like, Nope, I'm outta here. Cause that chemistry in college is
Laura:torture. This was literal, the best part of chemistry. I remember in high school this part of chemistry where we got to burn stuff over the bunston burner and make the flames turn different colors.
Katy:Oh yeah. Yeah. That was the best part. That was pretty fun. Yeah. All righty. So let me go, I'm gonna go ahead and go through, um, we don't have any nature news for you guys today, but lemme go ahead and go through the history of fireworks because it really, really is a long history that goes back. Thousands of years. I mean, can you just
Laura:imagine the first person who discovered how to blow something up?
Katy:Oh, well wait, so, so I did talk
Laura:about that. I can only imagine the power and like,
Katy:well, and that's what it turned into. So the origin of fireworks, as most people know, can be traced back to ancient China. Yeah. Where they were accidentally discovered by Chinese alchemists searching for an elixir of immortality. Of
Laura:course. And then they threw themselves up. Yeah. Which is h like, it's
Katy:horribly hilarious that like, that's that like considering the components of fireworks, which is what Laura's gonna go into, why they thought those pieces and parts would grant immorality. But I mean, I. Immorality. Sorry. I said it and I was like, wait a minute. To be fair, I mean to be fair,
Laura:as it kinda turned into
Katy:that with some of about it did. Um, but I mean it's science. You gotta figure it out somehow. And I mean, I would say live and learn, but I don't think most of them put live and learn. Um, and so that horrible
Laura:we should, that's.
Katy:Uh, but that was around 2000 plus years ago. These alchemists literally stumbled
Laura:upon well, and maybe somebody even before then, but they blew up and never got to tell. Yeah,
Katy:nobody ever knew. Nobody ever knew. That's awful. So this was like the first like, uh, documented case when they started mixing a mixture of sulfur charcoal salt Petter. Salt petter, which it. Exploded when it, when ignited initially these early quote unquote fireworks were used for mystical purposes as the loud noises and bright flashes were believed to scare away evil spirits or used for status like political influence. Kind of like a, like a, Hey on magic. You should listen to what I say, kind of thing. I mean, if you
Laura:could blow something up and make awesome colors, right. That's
Katy:pretty magical. Yeah. Right. I mean, can you, Ima like. 2000 plus years ago, the lack of everything technology wise, like you would have no idea. Then all of a sudden this guy comes, it's like, bang and all this stuff. I would be absolutely, this is amazing. Yeah, yeah. So the Chinese quickly recognized the entertainment value after a while of the value of fireworks and began using it for celebrations, religious ceremonies, and other fest occasions. Fireworks became an integral part of Chinese culture and tradition, and the Chinese were not the. We're not only fascinated by the visual spectacle of fireworks, but also appreciated the artistry involved in their creation. So it wasn't like we're us here in America because of its explosives, you know, it's not like we're, and it's not like, you know, you go to a fireworks display. It's like first everyone bring a firework that you've packed yourselves. You know what I mean? Like, it's not, it's not my goodness. Yeah. Right. Holy. So horrible.
Laura:I would absolutely never go to a fireworks display. Right. Ever. Not an area that I come
Katy:from. Yeah, the rednecks, I would love it. Um, but they really like the artistry that went, like the process of making it. And so from China, the knowledge of fireworks spread to other parts of the world, primarily through trade routes. So during the Middle Ages, fireworks gained popularity in Europe. They were used to celebrate special occasions such as royal weddings, religious festivals, and military victories. European pyro technicians began experimenting with different chemical compositions and techniques to create more and more elaborate displays. Again, Laura's gonna go into more of like how that happened but fireworks ended up becoming an integral part of royal festivals and entertainment across all of Europe. So, during then the Renaissance period, like the 13 hundreds to I think like, Just before the 17 hundreds marked a significant advancement in pyrotechnics. So Italian artists and scientists made really important contributions to the field during this time in general, including, uh, Vincenzo. Galilee, which is the father of Galileo. Like the Galileo. Yeah. So his, so his dad was a pirate to Mission. Yeah. Developed various types of, of Fireworks, Inc. Including aerial shells, ground-based fountains and rockets. So it was like more of, you know, you see the fireworks displayed, that's kind of what the Chinese did. Whereas these guys were like all the little ones you can buy at the convenience store, like the ground poppers and everything. Like that's what they kind of did. Fireworks became prominent feature at Royal Courts military displays, e everything, you know, cuz they're fireworks. I mean, why not? It's fun for everybody. Yeah. Yeah. So as colonization expanded in the 17th and 18th century, fireworks made their way to the American Americas. In the United States, fireworks gained popularity. During the Revolutionary War the founding fathers, including John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, advocated for celebrating Independence Day with fireworks. Hence now why now? It's a cherish tradition that continues to this day. So fireworks for here in America became synonymous with patriotism and the celebration of national identity. For us, it's blow stuff up like America's America, America
Laura:and thing I can think of it is hides like fried Twinkies. Yeah, right. Which is also pretty synonymous with the summertime.
Katy:It is, it is. So the 19th and 20th centuries brought significant, even bigger advancements. In firework technology. Chemists discovered new compounds that produce vibrant colors with ignited leading to the creation of multiple, like multicolor display. And they evolved fireworks and evolved from simple, you know, noise and light shows. To intricate displays. And then further advancements in the development of electric igniters time fuses, which all allowed for synchronization and choreograph firework shows. Adding an additional and different type of artistry then and precision to the displays and what, like the Chinese kind of like more of the process of making it. Where now we're like, let's see how we can just make this over the top. So in addition to their entertainment value, fireworks also has significant, like I said, cultural significance throughout history, which I've touched on at various points. They've been used to mark important religious festivals such as Diwali in India and the lunar New Year. In many Asian countries, fireworks are believed to bring good luck, ward off evil spirits, and symbolize new beginnings. In some cultures, fireworks are an integral part of wedding celebrations symbolizing joy, prosperity in the art of a new chapter in life. So the cultural then significance of the fireworks as it's continued to grow spreading to various parts of the world. Different countries and cultures have adopted fireworks as part of their own traditions in their own way. Again, here in America, I know. Up north. It was always just 4th of July. Now down here in Texas, you wanna talk about fireworks, like you get'em at New Year. New Year's too. So it's Independence Day and New Year's. Yeah, there's the occasional New
Laura:Year's once
Katy:here, but not at all. Oh my gosh. It sounds, I think like the ground stuff is way worse here at New Year's than what it is in 4th of July. It is nuts like our, I mean, it's Texas. Go big or go home, blow it up. Yeah. And so like 4th of July, it's nuts. The number of fireworks it, it literally goes off all night Fireworks. But then New Year's too, it's the same thing. And so it's just, it's both. So yeah, it's just, it's just crazy. But today, fireworks are endured worldwide, not only for their celebrations, but also the cultural events, sporting competitions, national holidays. All sorts of things and the scale of complexity of fireworks displays have reached completely new heights. Yes. But, um, um, with breathtaking bionic techniques, featuring intricate designs, synchronized music, and just insane things of what, what they've proud of time. I can
Laura:remember seeing new designs. Oh, absolutely. What, how did they just make that smiley face? Right, you're
Katy:right. Yeah. It has gotten like it, it has gotten really cool. So that's just a, a little bit of the history about it. Um, and then we can go ahead and go into the science behind it all. Yeah, and
Laura:I mean, all fireworks have pretty much the same, um, components, but more, I'm really gonna be talking about like the aerial displays. But like I said, they all pretty much have the same stuff. There's just sometimes more stuff than the aerial ones. But it's essentially fireworks are just controlled explosions. So I wanted to talk about first the anatomy of a firework. Like how is it built? What's the science behind it? Why does it go boom? Um, so the first thing that you're gonna need is a fuse, which is usually located at the base of the firework. Once it's ignited, it begins to burn, and it burns slowly, allowing plenty of time for you to run away before it blows up. Hopefully as the burning progresses along the fuse, heat is released and this sustains the reaction to for it to continue burning. So like, I mean, it's just why stuff burns, the heat releases more and then just keeps burning. Yeah. Once it reaches the main charge, the chemical reaction results in r a rapid release of energy. Hence like then helping it to ignite and further blow up. So there's a few different types of fuses though, and Katie already kind of mentioned one or two of them, but the most common one is called the Visco fuse. It's got a core of black powder, which
Katy:I'll not to be confused with. Visco girls. That I think everyone's forgotten about by now. But,
Laura:but I, and I'll talk about like what's in black powder in a little bit, but the core of it's black powder and it's wrapped in multiple layers of tissue paper or cotton. And that wrapping, the wrapping around it controls the burn rate of the fuse. There's the quick match fuse, which burns the fastest, and it usually connects multiple fireworks, allowing for synchronized ignition. It also has a black powder core, but instead it's wrapped in waterproof coating. There's the cannon fuse, which is thicker and slower burning. This is for large fireworks where pyro technique devices like signal flares and smoke bombs, and it's got a black powdered core wrapped in cotton or hemp fabric. And it's very controlled, like it has a controlled timing. You know, you have plenty of time with the cannon fuse, thankfully. Thankfully, there's the safety fuse. This is most resistant to accident dental ignition or moisture, and it's used in professional pyrotechnics or military applications. It's got a black powder core wrapped in textile fabrics, plastic coating, or
Katy:both. You know, you would think everyone would just, you know, default to the safety is the safety one. Yeah. Right. But we're America here. Yeah. Right.
Laura:Gotta live a little. And then, like Katie had mentioned a little bit ago, there's the electric ignition ones, which is not actually a fuse at all, but instead it's electronic device that uses electric matches, which are basically just like these tiny little things that ignite when an electric current passes through them.
Katy:So that's all the, which is neat. Which, that's neat. In it in itself. Oh yeah. Like this is not Yeah. Press pretty. You press button it. Yeah. Um, what's that sound again?
Laura:This is just a little firework. Yeah. Um, so that's the fuse. Then there's the shell that's like all the rest of the body, and inside of it is a couple of different things. First is the propellant. This is the force that propels the firework into the air. It uses black powder or gunpowder, or a mixture. Like I said earlier, like what is black powder? It is a mix of sulfur charcoal. Mm-hmm. And potassium nitrate, which is salt Peter. So it is the exact same thing as those first people. Like fires haven't actually changed that much because we're still using the exact same
Katy:ingredient. Yeah, we've just added stuff to it. Exactly.
Laura:So sulfur is the fuel in the combustion process. The charcoal is also fuel, but acts as a binding agent to allow it to burn more evenly. The salt Peter serves as an oxidizer, which means that when it burns, it creates oxygen. So like it fuels the fire because of course fire needs oxygen to burn. When the propellant is ignited, it triggers this thing. It triggers a process called deflagration, which is the rapid combustion process that travels through the mixture of the firework releasing energy and lots of gas, aka like it's the oxygen. Yeah, when this gas is rapidly expanding inside of the shell, it creates pressure and pushes out, propelling it upward, but then once the propellant, so that's like the initial little off the ground. Um, I'm gonna keep getting great sound effects. Sound effects. So that's the little lift off the ground. Then the fuse lights up the lift charge, which is right above the propellant. It's essentially another type of propelling or a propellant, but with a little more specific. It propels the firework even higher.
Katy:Oh, okay. Okay. It's got, um, so like the one just gets it off the ground, kind of. The other one's the one that like shoots it up. Yeah. This is like super high.
Laura:Yeah. Yeah. It's like, it's basically the extra boost,
Katy:which, which makes sense because I mean, Depending on, like, you have those huge fireworks and those need to go so much higher. Yeah. But you know what I mean? But it allows you to do the different heights of
Laura:everything. Right. Like you'll even, like when you see a firework, you'll see it go up and you'll see it
Katy:and then Yeah. It keeps going up. Yeah. Yeah. You don't see the tail of it, the trail of it anymore. Then you see it keep going up. Yes.
Laura:The lift charge is lit. Yeah. So it's more propellant, usually. Gunpowder though specifically made you choose an extra powerful explosion to give it just a little bit higher. Then the explosive charge or the bursting charge, it's the same thing. That is what goes off at the, after that, at the peak, it explodes. So the explosive charge consists of various chemicals to give desired colors and effects, but like all things that burn, just like the propellant, it has to have the same ingredients. It has to have a fuel, a binder, and an oxidizer. Okay, so the fuel gives it something to burn. The binder holds it all together and the oxidizer produces that oxygen to keep it burning. And those can be lots of different chemicals. Oxidizers are things like potassium nitrate, potassium chlorate, potassium perchlorate. Fuel could be that charcoal, the sulfur or other metal powders and binders can be things like shellac, which is crazy. That
Katy:is crazy. Yeah.
Laura:Yeah. Polyvinyl alcohol, I. Or just dextrin, which is a type of starch, like you're just potato ing it together. And then the fourth thing in it is usually the colorants, which are metal salts and by metal. Like it's just, it's not salt. Yeah. It's like bits of metal. They just call them salts and this is what gives the, uh, fireworks, their colors. Sometimes these explosive charges can also have. These things in them called pyrotechnic stars, and I had to look that up cause I was like, what? Okay, so imagine that the shell is like a canister and it's full of, you're different. It's got your propellant, your lift charge, your bursting charge. Throughout that, there are these little pellets and they can be shaped in different ways. They can be like circles or cylinders or some other things. They're like little tiny packages of their own stuff. Okay. Of the same
Katy:thing. Oh, okay. Okay, okay, okay. Okay. Yeah. So insider
Laura:pellets that are also made of a oxidizer of fuel and a binder cheese. Okay. Yeah, so like a firework in a firework, and those small pellet like structures, depending on the way they're packed in there mm-hmm. Determines. Usually color and the pattern. So like, it's what makes a willow
Katy:a willow The shape. Okay. Okay. A, A flower.
Laura:A flower, right? Like the different shapes of the fireworks are dependent upon those pellets. And then finally, sometimes within the shell there is timing and delay mechanisms. Typically in aerial shells, like the ones that go off way high up in the air, there are two fuses, which is a time delay. So you got your first fuse that's lighting. The the propellant, like it propellant goes up in the air. Mm-hmm. That light's the second fuse that's burning as it's going higher, higher, higher, higher, higher, higher until it reaches the peak and sets off that burst charge. So like the second fuse is sitting the burst charge. Okay. So it's, they've really timed it out like they've got the science done, timed just perfect. But you know, the science of like, how the thing is made isn't really, of course, what makes them so cool. It's the awesome colors and sounds and shapes that
Katy:they make. Well, sp speaking of sounds, so as you were talking about that, I looked up what makes the whistling in a firework. Are you gonna talk about that at all? Uh, I have the, not the whistle. Okay. So I found real quick that the whistle, because you know, we're talking about, again, it's essentially the same stuff, but it's a little bit of a mixture of something else. So fireworks, they owe the whistles to org a mixture of organic compounds. But it's like, uh, gallic acids, sodium syl, potassium benzoate, and puric acid. So it adds in different acids. Yeah. And so again, these are mixed with oxidizers again and tightly packed into a tube. The small explosions caused by this, these compounds lead to oscillations and gases created by the burning mixture. And then this creates the standing wave in a tube Yeah. Produced, which is producing that whistling effect. That's cool.
Laura:I love the screamers that you could buy. You just stick'em. Oh, yeah. They just, they
Katy:just yell. Yeah.
Laura:Just, yeah. Scream. So, right. And then the other thing about fire, like Katie was just saying there's the whistles and then there's the boom, you know? And some of the like, actually what I don't like, I don't mind, I don't mind the boom of colorful fireworks, but I don't like the, the loud
Katy:one ones. Oh my gosh. Yeah. It hit your chest. It's so loud. It's, it's just a bit. A bit Much,
Laura:bit much. There's not even, there's, there's almost, there's like a tiny flash. Yeah. But it's really cool for the sound. And at the end they're always like, bababababa and you're looking for your whole body.
Katy:Like, well, down here in Fort Worth, they have like the last, I don't know. Was it since over covid? I don't remember when we went down, but I stopped going because like they shortened the show, but we were there and like they shorten it a lot shorter than normal and then everything just went off all at once. And so it's so close. They do it really close, but they also do it really close to the ground and then it goes up not all that high and so it's like layers and so everybody around us was like, Did that just like all blow up, like did by accident, did that just blow up by accident? Yeah. No, they do it every year, and so we were, everybody's just like, yeah, that's not cool because it, it is terrifying. Yeah, it's terrifying because yeah, those big booms and then everything's so close to the ground. No way. Yeah, there's no way. So the
Laura:boom is the result of the gases expanding at a rate faster than the speed of sound, which is resulting in a sonic boom. Like it's, which
Katy:is why it's too loud. Okay. If you have something. That you're making, you're like, oh, it makes it because it's, you know, faster than the speed of sound. Maybe. That's a bit much, guys. Yeah.
Laura:It's, it's intense. But the colors, this is what I always saw, was the coolest part of fireworks and the shape it is. Yeah. So colors are formed in two ways, and just in general, color in the universe is formed in two ways, luminescence and incandescence. So incandescence, think about a light bulb, an incandescent light bulb mm-hmm. That produces light because of the heat. So it's so hot that it starts to glow and, okay. Okay. Uh, like the color changes, the hotter the substance is. So like, you know, it'll start off like tickles. Come on, dude.
Katy:Tickles
Laura:sitting right on the micro cord, so I can't there. Okay. So. The color depends on like the temperature. So like when it starts out mm-hmm. It's usually like an orange or a red and Okay. Then the hotter it gets, it starts to turn like more white. Gotcha. More like an iron when you put it in the fire. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So that's incandescence. And so they can do that with fireworks. They can control temperature to a point, but that's not very common. Usually we're talking about luminescence and that's chemical reactions that produce color. So the most common form. So that's those metal salts. Different metals burn different colors because of the different, um, like how fast the molecules are vibrating in that metal. Mm-hmm. Yeah. So here's your color chart for fireworks. Strontium is red, calciums are orange, sodiums are yellow, coppers are blue, bariums are green. Strontium plus copper is purple, and then aluminum, magnesium, or titanium is
Katy:white. So now you guys need to go back. Listen to Laura. Say that again? Yep. Write all of it down and then at your fireworks. Fireworks. And then tell everybody, ah, berry firework. Right. I love the color of barium and just, and just keep repeating it with every time one goes up, just Ah, I love it. Yeah. Right. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That would be, that would be amazing. That would actually make a pretty funny video too. That really,
Laura:would you do it? Yeah. Take a video of it, please. And tag us. So yeah, that is like the science of fireworks, how they're made, how they produce their color, and how they produce their sound. But before we complete our episode, because this is a nature podcast, we do like to talk about the environment. And as amazing as I think fireworks are, I would love, like when I die, Send me out with fireworks.
Katy:Noted. Noted. But you're the carbon, you're the carbon to the
Laura:fireworks. Oh my gosh. Turn me into a firework. Yes, that's what I meant. That's why I thought you were going. Absolutely. That's not what,
Katy:yeah, yeah, yeah. I'll let, I'll talk to Justin and we'll, we'll arrange it. It just has to be over
Laura:holy ground since I'm Catholic, so shoot me Catholic. Ard a graveyard. Ok. Okay. So. Fireworks are awesome, but they're definitely not the most eco-friendly thing, sadly enough. So I'm gonna end a little bit on a downer, but I'm gonna twist it at the end with a positive. So we're not all depressed today. But fireworks of course, produce smoke, particulate matter from the explosion and gases. And all of these can have a negative impact on air, soil, and water quality.
Katy:That's the one thing, like whenever we were kids growing up and. We would go to a fireworks display and there's all those people that try to get like, as close as possible. And my dad was always like, Nope, nope, nope, nope. And we, he, we would scoot back. Dude, I can feel that falling on you. Yeah. Too. You're too close. Too close. Yeah. And some people are like, they're like, ah. Oh. I'm like, Nope. Too close. No, you can feel it Too close to me. Yeah. Too close. No.
Laura:And you're not feeling it, but, so here's some stats. So some of the oxidizers that they use in fireworks are known as perchlorates, which according to the Environmental Protection Agency, are known to affect the thyroid's ability to produce hormones. So not good. Um, and like, how bad is this issue of perchlorates? Oh, well, they're heavy metals. Yeah, it's never good to have heavy metals, basically anywhere in nature. You hate heavy metal, you avoid that place. You don't drink the water, you don't use the soil, you don't breathe
Katy:the air. As Americans flock to the area. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Ah, heavy metals.
Laura:The only heavy metal that's good is music. And even then depends. Yeah. Um, so heavy metals produce, I mean, short-term effects are like vomiting, diarrhea, asthma. But longer things are,
Katy:sorry, sorry. I just got
Laura:from heavy metal music.
Katy:Well that, but I also just, you're like, how immediate are these effects? Cause like are you gonna
Laura:fireworks and just blowing out, watching have an asthma attack as stuff is coming about both ends.
Katy:Horrible.
Laura:That's awful. Have you met toxicity and then longer affects our kidney disease, cardiotoxic effects, and of course cancer. Jeez. There's nothing like independence day. You like cancer. God, I'm laughing that it's terrible. Okay. How bad. Well, no, I'm
Katy:laughing cause it's like this, like that. We haven't found another way. Like we've been making fireworks essentially the same way. Thousand years. Yeah, 2000 plus years. The same freaking way. And here's
Laura:the thing, all of all of our listeners right now, especially us Americans are like, yeah, but Laura, how bad can this be? Like we only do fireworks once a year. And like, come on, how bad can it be? Pretty, pretty freaking bad. Guys, I'm really sorry and this was a real moment to read, but. I'm really aware of the air quality index lately because of this whole like Canadian wildfire. The smoke all came Oh yeah. Off where I live. So everybody's reading like the air quality index, there is such a thing as an air quality index and it goes from zero to 500, 400 and above is se severe. Do not be in that air. Okay.
Katy:Well, yeah, look at New York City recently, how bad that was and everything. Yeah, yeah. I mean,
Laura:it's a city. Yeah. You're like in a fire. Yeah. Well, some scientists have taken. Tests of the air around fireworks displays and particularly in Delhi in India during Diwali, which is of course the festival of Lights and they're sending off mm-hmm. Tons of fireworks. Mm-hmm. Everything. Yeah. The air quality in Delhi in some parts of the city was 500.
Katy:Like you should, yeah. Yeah. Toxic error and that, but that's like, that's too, cuz that's like everybody shooting stuff off like at one box at one. Yeah. But it's also like, you know, we have laws and restrictions. I don't know to talk about that here, but they don't, A lot of other countries don't have those restrictions. So it's just everybody shooting off everything whenever, wherever they want kind of thing. And then
Laura:even places that are better. So, I mean, In London, which is a, you know, this is in India. This is another, this is over in England, in London, some levels of heavy metals in the air after a fireworks display were anywhere from six to 120 times normal. Within the, yeah, within the hour. Yeah.
Katy:120 times normal. I mean, but you're exploding that stuff, you know what I mean? Like Yeah.
Laura:You're exploding into the air. So what it does is it creates short, small bursts of ozone. It increases nitric oxide, sulfur oxide, which both create acid, rain, and our climate change gases and heavy metals from these fireworks can travel 62 miles down, wind over two days. Geez. So like, geez, we're aerosolizing heavy metals. And celebrating it as we breathe it in. Yeah. It's pretty tough.
Katy:And I, and I know for a while, and I mean they still have these, but they tried to replace fireworks displays and they still kind of are with those drone shows mm-hmm. Which have kind of fallen flat on their faces. I mean like, cause it's a whole other different explosion. Yeah. It's, it's something totally different. Like, I think they're neat, but it's something totally different. Yeah. That at least for Americans, that's, it's not fully sensory. No. Yeah. And that's what it is. And I don't think it's gonna replace fireworks anytime soon.
Laura:And the other thing that's, you know, like a lot of times we do fireworks displays over water because it helps with things catching on fire. But unfortunately then all those heavy metals fall right into the water. Going into the water. Yeah. Like into our water guys. So this might not be okay, but. It's not so bad in rural areas because around these parts we're only doing it once a year. Okay. Yeah. But there are some places in our country, and I'm looking at you, Disney.
Katy:Um, the Disney, Disney all the
Laura:time, Disney Parks have on average 230 fireworks display shows per year.
Katy:Okay. If anybody has not seen Disney fireworks displays, it's Fanta, the same company that does the Disney display fireworks displays is does them in, like, is out of Pittsburgh. And so it is, and I, so same thing. I've seen'em at Disney, seen'em, like the ones in Pittsburgh and stuff, I mean, Amazing. Oh yeah. But it is a lot, it is a lot of fireworks. They, you use
Laura:90,000 pounds of fireworks per year. Geez. So like Disney, you're ruining the atmosphere like you're poisoning Florida. I love you
Katy:even more,
Laura:but Yeah. Yeah. Like poor Florida, it never had a chance. No. But, On the positive side, besides those of us who are living in rural areas and are pretty good about our air, they are developing what's called cleaner fireworks. Will this catch on? Probably not because Americans are American.
Katy:Yeah. We're still using lead ammo, right? I mean like, but
Laura:there is an alternative option if anybody cares and it's using compressed air, um, instead of some of those gases. And it doesn't use any perchlorates as oxidizers. So, okay. No. Yeah, no metals that are causing thyroid problems.
Katy:Protector thyroids, folks protect.
Laura:Public summers an outfit. Take your thyroid folks. So yeah, cleaner fireworks, promote cleaner fireworks is what we should be doing. Absolutely blow things up, but do it cleaner, right?
Katy:For the sake of your
Laura:thyroid. And then, uh, I mean, that's just air and water and stuff. Quality. But the other problem with fireworks, it's. Probably not as imminent of a danger, but it is crazy noise pollution for local wildlife and pets. Yeah. I never forbid a lot of people's pets.
Katy:Yeah. My dogs don't like
Laura:it. I always imagine the poor birds like, oh my gosh. Even imagine like just in your little nest trying to go sleep your whole teen shakes. It'll be, I, I just can't even imagine the poor things. Yeah. And then the noise can be severely triggering to those people that have P T S D. Yeah. So be aware, you know, if you have friends, family, or neighbors, That might be suffering from ptsd. D like be aware, be cognizant. Maybe don't sell up giant fireworks next to your neighbors, or heck, just be considerate overall because some people have to like work the next day or they have a baby. I wanted to freaking murder people last year for sitting off fireworks because all Aurora could have
Katy:woken up. Oh my gosh. Yeah. Whenever Luke was little, I was like, oh my gosh. Can't. I have seen whenever we first moved down, uh, it's a little rock. There was a kid and I, I, I, and I say kid cuz he was a kid and we always said, he was like, bad news, Brian. Like, no matter where this poor kid went, like bad things always happen to him. And so, you know, air Force and so everybody, I mean, Hundreds of dollars. No, it was definitely thousands of dollars for like ground fireworks and stuff. We go off to the spot cuz a lot of places they are, you know, first of all, lemme just say fireworks should always be handled with caution and using only in designated areas, whether large or small. Yeah, they can
Laura:burn like
Katy:1800 degrees. Yeah, so hot. So, and it's important to follow any local laws and guidelines to ensure both personal safety and safety of others. I know where I live, like it is, you're not allowed to set off, but I mean, it's mostly cuz it's, you know, I mean, some places you can't even buy them. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, we can buy'em, but most counties down here, you can't set'em off just cuz everything's so freaking dry cuz it's Texas in the summer. But yeah, so they could be very dangerous if mishandled and like one story for instance is this again, I say a kid cuz he was a kid, but, uh, Thousands of dollars worth of fireworks. Everybody's like being very responsible, but at the same time it's a bunch of dudes. And so I'm like, oh my gosh. And my immediate, my like wilderness first aid responder kicked in. Cuz I'm like, I like my spidey sense. I was like, something's gonna go bad. So here goes this kid, bad news, Brian. He goes out to set off something in a canister and it wasn't going off. Ugh. And what does he do? What an idiot. He walks out towards it and immediately. Yeah, we were all like, no, boom. Went off that kid, like he's lugging Ed his eyebrows off. S Cied. His eyelashes. Eyelashes. Meanwhile we're like it. This is Arkansas. The middle of freaking nowhere at this like little lake, like there were a bunch of other people like you all go there for like the fireworks display that's there, but then everybody's setting off stuff, you know, ahead of time and stuff. And that's what we were doing. But we had just moved there. And so we have to take this kid, we have to find a hospital. They put in like these little contacts into his eyes that have tubes running from them to like wash his eyes out. Cuz that was so bad. Oh, that kid is lucky that he didn't lose fingers or his eyesight. Like, so I, I actually have
Laura:a relative that lost two fingers to an M 80. It's no joke.
Katy:Yeah. I, I don't mess with him. A and again, that's just over cautious law following Katie? Yeah. Um. But I don't like I enjoy it. It's fun, but at the same time, yeah, I,
Laura:I mean, I like sparklers. Yeah. You know, like the little stuff.
Katy:Yeah. Like, I'll do the fun stuff that's, that I know is gonna be safe, and if anything is gonna be, and I inspect everything, like I am that person that if I'm gonna shoot something off, I'm like looking at the canister to make sure everything's like, Still on because I mean, you can't see inside of it, but still making sure like the outside container is still there. Cuz I've opened up those fireworks packets and there's been something that's ripped and I've seen other people that are like, oh yeah, let's shoot it off. I'm like, no. If it is punctured, yeah. If something is punctured or something, then it's not gonna go off right. And you can't rely on it. So just absolutely as fun and as entertaining it is. Please, please, please be careful and responsible as you guys are going out and celebrating today.
Laura:Definitely, definitely,
Katy:definitely. Definitely. That's fireworks guys. All right guys. Make sure you reach out to us on Twitter and go ahead and follow us. Chat with us on there. Send us if you do an annoying fireworks commentary of all the chemicals, please send that to us too. We would love to see it. Yes,
Laura:yes, yes. Yeah, please send it our way. Oh my gosh, I would love to hear that. All right, everyone, hopefully you know a little bit more than you used to. Your curiosity has been peaked and maybe you care just a little bit more. Tune in next
Katy:week everybody. Bye
bye.