The citizens of Morton, Minnesota, are probably doing a repeat performance of this pyrotechnic display today as they join the rest of the US in a celebration of Independence Day. If you want to blow the minds of your family and friends at the barbecue, steer the conversation toward fireworks and casually drop this truth bomb: Gunpowder, the fuel that makes the fireworks explode, was invented in ancient China by Taoist alchemists who hoped to create an immortality elixir. That’s some dramatic irony, at least in hindsight. Be safe!
Let’s celebrate
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
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Berlin Festival of Lights
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Hello, harbinger of spring
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Extraterrestrial Culture Day
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Haghartsin Monastery, Armenia
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Salmon return to the Copper River
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Frozen fun in the Canadian cold
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Icelandic horses, Iceland
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A wild and scenic scene
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Quiver trees in Namibia
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Amelia Earhart
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Winnie-the-Pooh Day
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Three cheers for polar bears!
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Holey moley–it’s National Doughnut Day!
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Modica, Sicily, Italy
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Preservation Hall in New Orleans, Louisiana
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National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day
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Diwali
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Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California
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Channel Country, Australia
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An uncommon look at an American icon
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Mardi Gras flower power
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Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada
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Global commerce in motion
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A little blue
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A stunning national park in winter white
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Wheels up in Beijing
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Chocolate Hills
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A courtyard scene from Spain
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Papa was a flightless bird
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Under Parisian skies