7/1/13: LEGAL AND ILLEGAL FIREWORKS!

Independence Day is coming up, and I know America just loves to blow off fireworks and firecrackers, and even so, there are hundreds of cases a year of pyrotechnic malfunctions, or injuries.

So, here's a list of some illegal fireworks, that I hope you won't buy, just because they're probably expensive, dangerous, and you'll get in trouble. For your knowledge, I want you guys to learn what fireworks are illegal so you can still have a fun Fourth without having to worry about getting injured or getting in trouble.

There are many legit legal pyrotechnic toys out there, YOU just need to learn about them, buy them, and shoot 'em off!

Illegal Fireworks

M-80's, M-100's, etc.

A group of M-80's

         M-whatever, usually M-80's are very much illegal. So many people, mostly kids, had been getting hold of them, and blowing off or severely injuring their hands and feet. Don't buy anything marked, "M-80" or "M-whatever," because they might be the real thing.

         M-80's are actually used for the military, because the sound of one going off sounds like gunshots, so people in the military could train for armed combat using these exercises involving these fireworks. Many people think M-80's are more powerful than 1/4 of a stick of dynamite, but they aren't. They are actually less powerful. Even so, they have been known to hurt and even kill people. In fact, M-80's contain 60 times more gunpowder than an any legal firework.

         Just think about this: They're used in the military, for the military, specifically in the military. Unless you live in a military training camp, these are illegal. 

Cherry Bombs

A Cherry Bomb

          You hear about these bad boys more than M-80's. They are also legal, and are often sold at firework places labeled different things, but they are actually just fireworks scrapped together from the real thing. They are round, often dyed red, and have a long stick poking out of the top to light, hence the name Cherry Bomb. But this is actually a bomb, no joke, and are also used to the military. They make a very loud sound and can heard from long distances. Still, some people are able to get their hands on them, and usually hurt themselves.

           They are also called Globe Salutes, so be careful if you see that name anywhere as well.

           One thing that makes these so dangerous is the sound it produces. Like the M-80, it contains a lot more gunpowder than any legal firework, so when it all explodes, it makes a huge noise. Also, one half of the bomb is filled with gunpowder, the bottom half, while the top half is empty with a big gap at the top where the stick is placed through. When it ruptures and explodes, the sound is even louder with the air gap.

Legal Fireworks

You can see any, or most, or some, in basically any firework stand you go around the Fourth. These are legal and actually fun. Here's a list of some of the top legal fireworks.

Aerial Repeaters

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These are one of my favorites. They come in either a box or a cylinder, and is pretty much multiple little fireworks in one firework. Good for night, when you light it, multiple little fireworks shoot up into the air and make a little firework show right on your driveway. Sometimes, one little firework shoots up, then after a few seconds, another blasts off into the night sky. Sometimes, multiple happen at the same time. It's all pretty cool to watch.

Aerial Shells

These are also one of my favorites. They come in little sphere-shapes and when you light them, they blast up into the air and explode into a incredible patterns of sparkles and bursts of color. They're look like fireworks you'd see at actually firework shows, only they are smaller, more awesome and safer to fire off right in your driveway.

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Display Tubes

These things look exactly how they sound. They are fairly thin and tall cylinders with an aerial shell loaded into it, so when you light it up, a shell shoots up and explodes into a firework.

Firecrackers

There are different types of firecrackers, but the main ones are in belts, sold in different amounts. You light one and they all crackle at order and in a row. They are often cool to watch as each one explodes after the other. If I were an evil spirit living in China, I'd be driven away by these things a long time ago.

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Flying Spinners [aka Helicopters]

These look like little planes, and when they're lit, they spin around, and sometimes spin off the ground, like a helicopter, until the grand finale when they burst into sparkles and pops and snaps of color.

Fountains

Fountains are somewhat like Aerial Repeaters, but they go up much shorter distances into the night sky. They still provide a neat light show of color and sparkles as all those crackers shoot up and pop like an even smaller firework show.

Ground Spinners [aka Flowers]

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These are shaped like little tubes, that, when lit, spin around so fast, it looks like a flow
er, hence the name, and they light up and sparkle in different colors.

Mines

No, they're not actual "mines." They just shoot off colors and other effects in a fan-shape.

Novelties

These are great fireworks for kids. They come in multiple forms, most commonly seen as Tanks or Cars ot Trucks. The Tanks are the most common, or at least the ones that I know of, novelties where kids can light them up and they can have Tank races. When they light it, a blast of sparks shoots up from behind, and they can actually move. 

Parachutes

In a tube, there's a little string that you can light, and then a geyser of sparks blasts up and then it parachutes down as the colors and sparks fall down to the ground. Sometimes they can modeled like aerial repeaters, where multiple geysers can be shot up.

Snappers

These things are also used at parties, and come in little paper packs that kind of look like a Hershey's Kiss, and when you smack it on a hard surface, like the ground, they make a good snap.

Rockets and Missiles

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Rockets and Missiles shoot up into the air and do some kind of an effect involving exploding at the end. They come in large sticks which you can stick into bottles, to make bottlerockets, or skyrockets, which don't even fit into bottles, and are fired up to make an even more erratic explosion in the sky. 

Roman Candles

These things fire multiple shots out a singular-tube when you lit it up, blasting the fireworks high into the air to make for a cool light show.

Smoke Balls

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These don't make any noise, so their good for kids. All you do is light up the end and you back away, and depending on the color of the ball, that colored-smoke will come up of the ball. The smoke looks cool and floats into the sky. Better used during the daytime, because it's better to see.

Strobes

Strobes are exactly like strobe lights in firework-form. They flash many different colors and emit them so bright to where you can see them when it's pitch black.
Snakes

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These things come in little black pellets that when lit on fire, grow and grow bigger and bigger, and longer and longer, to look like snakes. By a few minutes, they blow away, and all that's left is a spot of ash on your driveway.

Sparklers

Good for kids, Sparklers light up the night as you hold them, and they emit an array of cool colors and sparks, hence the name, and come on a stick which you can hold.