Sunday,
July 01, 2007
This July 4th, Enjoy your
"Italian" Fireworks
The
ANNOTICO Report
Rudimentary
"firecrackers" were developed during the Han Dynasty, around 200 B.C.
in rural
But
while you are enjoying your July 4th Fire works display, be they at the
stadium, in your back yard, or anywhere in between, remember that Italians
were the first to put an artistic spin on fireworks during the Renaissance.
They developed the first aerials,
canisters that shoot multiple exploding shells into the air.
The Italians also
developed a precursor to the modern-day "sparkler" by
placing a slow-burning gun powder mix into an open-ended paper tube. The tube
would burn away, shooting off sparks as it did.
The Italians
struck again in 1830, when their pyrotechnicians
developed a way to cause fireworks to burn in multiple colors. Until
then, fireworks could only emit an orange flash with black/white sparks.
Fireworks Date Back 2,000
years to
By
James Queally
Advance
Staff Writer
Sunday,
July 01, 2007
Every year,
splashes of red, white and blue populate the sky behind billowing clouds of
smoke, eliciting cheers from people watching both professional fireworks
displays and illegal neighborhood shows.
People
are fully aware that fireworks signify the anniversary of our freedom from
Rudimentary
"firecrackers" were developed during the Han Dynasty, around 200 B.C.
in rural
Italians were the
first to put an artistic spin on fireworks during the Renaissance. They
developed the first aerials, canisters that shoot multiple exploding shells
into the air.
They also
developed a precursor to the modern-day "sparkler" by placing a
slow-burning gun powder mix into an open-ended paper tube. The tube would burn
away, shooting off sparks as it did.
The Italians
struck again in 1830, when their pyrotechnicians
developed a way to cause fireworks to burn in multiple colors. Until then,
fireworks could only emit an orange flash with black/white sparks.
Fireworks made
their way to
James Queally is a news reporter for the Advance. He may be
reached at queally@siadvance.com.
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