Fireworks?

[Amanda Morrison]

I like little fireworks... the kind that don't just send spinning flaming things at you or make an annoying noise. Sparklers, pagodas (my favorite!) and things like that are fun.

This year, we got the bright idea to put 500 sparklers together. I decided to light the pile, not realizing that these were the old kind of wooden sparklers. Needless to say, the whole thing blew up in a huge explosion, and I think I'm still seeing green spots.

[Kevin A]

I lost all the hair on my arms and neck. 4th of july, my family and and uncles are at my grandmas. We are lighting off safe and sane stuff to entertain her.
My uncle come out and has these 30 year old mortars, so we decide to take 2 of them and some other not so legal fireworks to an open area. We light of the first mortar, all is fine. Second one, well, my hair grows back.
Turns out that the propellent that should push the mortar up blew out the side and got me.

[UnStumpable237]

I've seen really cool fireworks in funny shapes. They were like smiley faces, planets, all sorts of cool things. And there was music on the radio that made it all the more exciting!

[IMDWalrus]

I've come to loathe fireworks in general...mainly because my neighbor has this tendency to set them off every night -- and I do mean EVERY night -- starting halfway through June and continuing until he runs out partway through July.

It's impossible to sleep during that month...Heck, my family has even tried calling the cops on him (we live in Michigan, so everything he's got is illegal) but to no avail. Maybe I should start sleeping with earplugs in...

[Ben.V.293]

My faviorites are definetly mortars, roman candles, and saturn missile batterys. When set off in the right order you can put on quite a show for not much money. Last summer my family had a big party so i spent $200 on fireworks and put on a really cool show. I love doing fireworks shows and i've become known for it in my town. I even built my own electroinc ignition system. I is much safer to use than trying to ignite rows of fireworks by hand. I can ignite 45 fireworks either individually or in groups from the safety of my control panel. Now i'm building a new ignition system from stainless steel and the switch panel is going to be inside an alluminum suitcase. I'll post a picture of it when its done. I am not a crazy pyro however, safety is a huge concern of mine, especially when there are bystanders around. If anyone would like to build their own ignition system just ask me and i'll be glad to sent pics and plans.

Ben Van Selous

[EddieMcD]

I don't know if this fits the topic, but I love the rockets that don't blow up (i.e., Estes rockets). Fitting the topic: eh, at least it's easy to pull apart those engines and make a colorful exploding rocket (not that I've ever done that. I like my rockets returing in one piece. Which reminds me, I should bring up my "crashing Death Star" story some time).

Fully on topic now: I prefer the pyro displays the WWE puts on at their shows. They always fit the mood of what's going on. I also am a fan of those large public displays of exploding fireworks high in the sky.