5 November: Fireworks

It's Bonfire Night, when many of us, in the UK, at least, will be lighting not only bonfires but also Fireworks. Here are 10 fascinating facts about fireworks.

1. Fireworks were invented by the Chinese 2,000 years ago. They used to write on Bamboo stalks and then put them over the fire to dry. Air pockets in the bamboo would often expand, causing a bang. The bangs scared off mountain men and evil spirits, according to the scholars at the time. The Chinese went on to discover that saltpetre, charcoal and sulphur could be ground up and mixed together and poured into a hollow bamboo stalk to make an even bigger bang. These were the first firecrackers. The first rockets were used to propel arrows at enemies, and even live Rats, intended to scare the enemy Horses.
2. At first, fireworks only came in Orange and White, but as time went on people discovered how to make them more colourful. It was the Italians, rather than the Chinese, who perfected this in the 19th century. Basically, different elements burn at different wavelengths to produce different colours. Strontium and lithium compounds produce deep Red; titanium and magnesium burn silver or white; calcium creates orange; sodium produces Yellow; and barium burns Green. Combining chlorine with barium or copper creates neon green and turquoise flames, respectively. The most difficult colour to produce is Blue, which requires Copper. The colour doesn't survive high temperatures so well which is why blue fireworks don't seem quite as bright as the rest.
3. China is the world's biggest producer of fireworks. 90% of all fireworks are made in China.
4. The biggest consumer isn't a country, but a company - the Walt Disney Company is the largest consumer of fireworks in the world. It's the world's second biggest consumer of explosives in general, with only the US Department of Defense using more.
5. The first recorded fireworks in England were at the wedding of King Henry VII in 1486, although the word "firework" didn't appear in print until 1562 when Shakespeare mentioned them in Henry VIII and Love’s Labour’s Lost. Elizabeth I was a big fan of fireworks and created a court position called “Fire Master of England" for the most talented pyrotechnician in the land. James II knighted the man who made the fireworks display at his coronation.
6. Fear of fireworks is kovtapyroergasoiphobia, or pyrotechnophobia.
7. Phobias aside, fireworks are pretty dangerous and need to be treated with respect, starting with while they are being made. People who work in a firework factory are only allowed to wear Cotton clothes, because a spark from static on synthetic materials could have disastrous results. In 2010, there were more than 6,000 reported injuries due to fireworks in the US. 36% of firework related injuries are to the hands and fingers. 19% of injuries happen on the hand, face, and ears. Women are more likely than men to get injured at public fireworks displays, but away from public displays, it is men who get injured most often overall.
8. The deadliest fireworks-related accident in history happened on May 30, 1770. Though it was a panicking crowd, rather than the actual fireworks which caused the damage. After Marie Antoinette’s wedding to King Louis XVI, there was a firework display, during which the wind blew some partially-detonated rockets onto a large crowd of spectators, causing panic. People fled to the Rue Royale, and the stampede killed more than 133 people.
9. There is such a thing as a Chocolate firework. The largest chocolate firework was 3m high and 1.5m in diameter. It contained 60kg of Swiss Cailler chocolates and was let off in Zurich on New Year's Eve 2002.
10. There is a company called Heavens Above Fireworks in Essex which will add a person's cremated ashes to a firework, for those who want to go out with a bang.

Eternal Flame

The Freedom League's numbers have dwindled to three - but leader Unicorn knows his team isn't finished yet. The turning point comes with Russell, a boy with bright red hair and a genetic variant ability to start fires. He's the first of an influx of new members who will take the League into the future. 

Judith and Wil are child prodigies - Judith in physics and electronics, and Wil in medicine. They have another thing in common - they are both genetic variants. And another thing - they both have fiery red hair. They are drawn to one another as their destinies intertwine, but the course of true love doesn't always run smoothly!

Richard is not a variant. He's an Olympic athlete who has picked up useful knowledge from his unusual friends to add to his own natural abilities. A chance encounter with a dying alien throws him into a Freedom League mission in which his skills are put to the ultimate test, along with theirs.

The Freedom League's arch-enemy, the super-villain Obsidian, wants his family fortune all to himself. One person stands in his way - his niece, Fiona. Fiona, devastated by a family tragedy and her failure to get in to her first choice university, is miserable and has few friends. When she realises her brother's death was no accident, and his killer is also after her, she fears it may be too late to gather allies around her and learn how to use her own genetic variant powers.

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