Pyrotechnic amusements from sparklers to Roman candles have long been a staple of celebrations in the U.S. and beyond, helping to mark national... If you don’t see them, you hear them. On any July ...

As with so many dramatic inventions, the first firecracker may have been born of an accident. In 1st century BCE China, it is said, someone tossed a hollow bamboo stalk into a fire and watched it ...