Wow, the 4th of July. One of the most patriotic days in American History. It’s the day we claimed our independence, and our country moved forward as a unified, democratic nation. It’s a day that represents our freedom…and our love for flammables.
As I’m gearing up for my own 4th of July, I always think back to high school. Times were far more carefree then. We played with fireworks, sparklers, and other exploding items like they were toys for toddlers.
Well, one particular 4th of July, we decided to be “safe” when we set off our little explosions and went out to a freshly cleared site for a house. There was lot of dirt, and no flammables, so we thought we were being totally “responsible” for setting off our own 4th of July in this location.
At first, everything seemed to be going really well – things were exploding, sparkling, and doing what they were supposed to do. It was fantastic! Then the direction of the wind changed.
My friend set of a small twirly-sparkler thingey, and sure enough, the wind brought it right back in our direction…straight at me.
If I hadn’t been wearing jeans, my legs would most certainly would still bear the burns of a twirly-sparkler thingey. Understandably, my jeans were ruined. When I went home to tell my mom, she wondered if I was lying about where I had been…because my pants had clearly caught fire.
Fireworks look like they’ll be so much fun to play with – heck, they’re packaged like candy! But they’ll bite you faster than you can say “George Washington!” My good friend Erin wrote a terrific post on some of the safety precautions that should be taken if you choose to use fireworks at home.
So the next time someone says “liar, liar, pants on fire!” I’d highly recommend you give them these firework tips so that they don’t have to replace another pair of jeans. Or, better yet, tell them to download our new First Aid App, so they know what to do if their pants are on fire…there’s a whole section on burns.
