(FHM) Fireworks evolved from cool weapon to crowd pleaser.

• 100 BC -- AD 600: While cooking, a Chinese man discovers gunpowder. Descendants wrap it in bamboo tubes to make the first firecracker and use it to scare the crap out of enemies.
• 1350 -- 1550: Italians not growing chest hair or painting church ceilings spend the Renaissance making explosions an art.
• July 4, 1777: Philadelphians put on Independence Day's first fireworks celebration, giving Americans an annual reason to eat meat, get drunk and play with fire.
• 1966: The Child Protection Act bans the sale of M-80s, cherry bombs and all worthwhile fireworks with more than 50 milligrams of explosive powder.