including the hundreds of stars that go into a single firework. They mix carefully measured ingredients like perchlorate and black powder with binding and coloring agents: magnesium or aluminum ...

Historians believe that black powder (gunpowder), the explosive ingredient in fireworks, was invented in China about A.D. 1000. The Italians were the first Europeans to develop fireworks into an ...

It is thought that a Chinese cook accidentally invented gunpowder by mixing three common kitchen ingredients! Today, it is estimated that China produces around 90% of the world’s fireworks.

If looking at the back of a packet of instant ramen gives you fear, try firework ingredients for size: potassium nitrate, charcoal, sulphur and a medley of metals. London’s NYE fireworks emit the same ...