Did you know the Disney Corporation is the largest purchaser of fireworks in the world? When you think of it, it makes sense since they end each day with a fireworks show. Walt Disney World spends an incredible amount of $40,000 on fireworks a night. Annually, this adds up to an enormous $50 million on average.

Did you know China was the inventor of fireworks more than 1,000 years ago? Around 200 BC, the Chinese unintentionally invented firecrackers by tossing bamboo into fire, but it took another thousand years before true fireworks came alive. As the story goes, around 800 AD, an alchemist mixed sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate (a food preservative) hoping to find the secret to eternal life. Instead, the mixture caught on fire, and gunpowder was born! When the powder was packed into bamboo or paper tubes and lit on fire, history had its first fireworks! 

Did you know fireworks have been a part of Independence Day since the very beginning?

Fireworks made their first official appearance in America on July 4, 1777. This excerpt from the Pennsylvania Evening Post described the occasion, “The evening was closed with the ring of bells, and at night there was a grand exhibition of fireworks (which began and concluded with thirteen rockets) on the Commons, and the city was beautifully illuminated.” Since that day, fireworks have been an invaluable part of Independence Day celebrations.

Did you know the United States is the fourth-largest purchaser of fireworks in the world?

In monetary terms, the U.S. imported $803 million worth of fireworks in 2022, with Chinese bottle rockets, roman candles and other fireworks worth $786 million brought into the country. China provides 97.4% of the fireworks imported to the U.S. Fireworks are the world’s 868th most traded product.

Did you know Minnesota is 46th out of 50 for importing the highest/lowest value of fireworks per person? 

Missouri is the nation’s home of fireworks. The Show-Me State imported $125.8 million in fireworks in 2022, and at $20.40, it imported the highest value of fireworks per person. Minnesota imports $634,539 in fireworks and is at $0.11 per person.

Fireworks and Independence Day go hand-in-hand. Yes, some vets and pets develop fear and anxiety form the loud bangs and booms. Yes, some people get injured trying to set off the bottle rockets and roman candles. Yes, some people use the holiday to cause havoc to people and property and yes, some people behave carelessly with no concern for their neighbors and fellow man — but I still believe in the sentiment of John Adams who wrote the following on the fourth day of July, 1776, “I am apt to believe that it (Independence Day) will be celebrated, by succeeding generations, as the great anniversary festival…It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other from this time forward forever more.”