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Residents of the Kansas City metro area plan to celebrate their independence by setting fire to and blowing everything up.
According to the reference website Brittanica.com, the idea that Americans celebrate Independence Day by setting off fireworks to recreate the scenes of “bombs exploding in the sky” from the Revolutionary War isn’t the only reason we light up the sky with explosives.
The online site, based on the Encyclopedia Brittanica, which originated in Britain of all places, says the practice dates back to founding father John Adams’ suggestion to celebrate the day the United States declared its independence with games and lights, the name for fireworks displays at the time. Celebrating major events with fireworks was an established practice when England still ruled the colonies, according to Brittanica.
Fireworks explosions before the 1830s lacked the variety of colors we enjoy today, according to the Smithsonian Science Education Center. Modern “illuminations” are now filled with high-air explosions that glow with almost neon colors in precise shapes. These types of fireworks are usually reserved for those with special permits to set off the powerful explosives.
What kind of fireworks can the average Kansas City resident purchase at their local fireworks stand?
The Yankees who celebrated the first Independence Day in 1777 might be jealous, if not downright confused, by today’s fireworks.
The Star checked out several stands around the metro area and found plenty of the usual fare. Shelves are filled with mortars, fountains, fireworks, smoke bombs, hoses, and of course, sparklers. But as much as we patriots love to see things explode, a closer look at what’s on the shelves of local fireworks stands can give one the impression that the bang people are getting from their fireworks isn’t the real deal.
With many fireworks these days, it’s all about the packaging. What do the Minions from the popular “Despicable Me” movies have to do with the American Independence Day? Who knows, but they can be found in firework form at local stalls, along with something called Doggie Doo Doo, a cardboard dog that shoots a shower of sparks exactly where you’d expect it.
For Kansas City Chiefs fans, there’s a firework called the Kingdom that shoots out 16 red and gold flaming balls. The label on the mostly red packaging has gold lettering covering the image of a football player in a red helmet. The packaging all points to the Chiefs with no sign of the team’s arrowhead logo.
An inflatable Uncle Sam stands outside World Class Fireworks on Rainbow Boulevard in Kansas City, Kansas. A sign invites customers to shop inside their air-conditioned building, where you’ll find something resembling Uncle Sam, albeit not as a bag of hot air shooting plastic smoke grenades and curb stomps. In firework form, this Uncle Sam is shaped like a take-out coffee cup and is part of a packaged collection of three other coffee cup-shaped fireworks called Pyro Blends. Each piece has its own unique name: Banguccino, Explosso, and Boomcha. They’re all fountains that shoot out different colored sparks, depending on the packaging. The coffee cup, er, firework adorned with a face and a red, white, and blue tie is called the Americano.
Check out more of the strange fireworks we encountered as we toured the local stalls.
