Audio By Carbonatix
Thanks to a statewide fireworks ban, Independence Day could be a real downer for most of Colorado’s children and pyromaniacs. Luckily, there are options — some of which can be made at home in your kitchen! Searching for homemade explosives is a good way to get a virus on your computer — so we’ve saved you the risk by collecting our favorite alternatives to 4th of July fireworks. Check them out below — or else catch fireflies in a jar or bust out the glow sticks (if you’re a gigantic pussy, that is).
Number 8: Dry ice bomb
Most people bought cigarettes and porn on their 18th birthday. And then there are those of us who bought dry ice so we could blow shit up and burn off our skin. This little bomb is made by adding dry ice to a container filled with a bit of water and closing the lid tightly.
Number 7: Baking soda and vinegar volcano
You must build a giant paper-mache volcano, fill it with baking soda and red food coloring and scream, “We’re surrounded by liquid hot magma!” as you pour vinegar into it.
Number 6: Civil War reenactment
“But this is Colorado: Civil War reenactments don’t happen here, right?” False. Old men are everywhere. And you’re not a true patriot until you’ve been to a Civil War reenactment. Exploding cannons, the smell of gun powder and old war uniforms: What could be better on a hot July day?
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Number 5: Pop Rocks and soda
Fact: if you eat Pop Rocks with soda, you will explode.
Number 4: Ketchup
An exploding bottle of ketchup is not quite as fun as a homemade bomb, but it makes for a great prank.
Number 3: Buy a gun
With a gun, you can make pretty much anything explode. Fun things to shoot: overripe fruit, balloons filled with confetti or baby powder, eggs, jugs of milk, plastic bottles filled with water and food coloring, old electronics and cardboard cutouts of Justin Bieber.
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Number 2: Egg bomb
Microwave an egg for about a minute and then throw it at whatever target you’d like to turn into a screaming, sulphur-smelling mess. Be careful to not drop it anywhere near yourself, or else you’ll be pierced with very freaking hot shards of eggshell.
Number 1: Diet Coke and Mentos
This explosive combo is a classic YouTube fave. It’s so famous that the American Journal of Physics published a rigorous scientific study on this curious reaction, taking into consideration such factors as the temperature of the soda and the candy’s texture. Scientists are so good at thinking of ways to waste time.
More from our Lists & Weirdness archive: “10 Best of Denver places to stay cool during a heat wave.”
