What goes into the brilliant flashes and displays of fireworks? Ingredients from many places, according to American Geosciences.
Among them:
Gunpowder for the liftoff: Potassium nitrate, sulfur and charcoal. Potassium from Canada, New Mexico or Utah. Sulfur from Louisiana and Texas.
Aluminum for big flashes and bangs: Canada and Jamaica, among others.
Iron filings for sparks: Michigan and Minnesota.
Strontium for reds: From the mineral celestite, mostly from Mexico.
Copper for blues: Utah, New Mexico, Nevada, Montana, Michigan, Missouri.
Barium for greens: From the mineral barite, mostly from China.
Sodium nitrate for yellow: Chile and Peru, mainly.
Rick Good spent ten years in the newspaper business, including with The News & Observer (Raleigh, NC) and The Greenville News (Greenville, SC). He co-wrote, with Melinda Coleman, Rutledge to Riley: Governors of South Carolina, 1776–Present (Published by The Greenville News), and is the author of Mind Games Trivia #1 (Amazon). He has recently spent 15 years creating original trivia content through Sounds Good Mobile Entertainment and continues that with his new company, SGME Software. He edits The Smart Reader’s money, real estate, and business coverage.
