United States
These original spherical salutes were powerful enough to cause a legitimate safety concern. They were used in the Civil War to either stun or hurt the enemy. They were banned in the USA in 1966, by the federal Child Safety Act of 1966. Historically, these Globe Salutes and Cherry Bombs were made in two halves. One half was filled with powder and the other half was glued in place on top of it, and the whole globe was covered with glue-coated string or sawdust. This left an air-gap which created a louder bang when the case ruptured. Another source says they were originally charged with 5 to 10 times the amount of explosive composition a standard inch-and-a-half paper firecracker had. After the enactment of the Child Safety Act of 1966, all "consumer fireworks" (those available to individuals), such as silver tube salutes, cherry bombs and M-80s, could not contain more than 50 milligrams of powder mixture, which typically amounted to less than 5% of their original amounts.
Original potency Cherry Bombs are now considered explosive devices in the United States and possession, manufacture, or sale is illegal for individuals unless that individual has an explosives manufacturing license issued by the BATF/BATFE.
The Who drummer Keith Moon became infamous for playing practical jokes involving cherry bombs during the band's tours during the 1960s onward. It is estimated that over the years, he caused around US$500,000 of damage to hotel toilets, resulting in his lifetime ban from Holiday Inn, Sheraton and Hilton Hotel chains, as well as the Waldorf Astoria. According to a biographer, he bought his first 500 cherry bombs in 1965. He later progressed to M-80s and even dynamite.
Read more about this topic: Cherry Bomb, Legal Status
Famous quotes related to united states:
“I have ever deemed it fundamental for the United States never to take active part in the quarrels of Europe. Their political interests are entirely distinct from ours. Their mutual jealousies, their balance of power, their complicated alliances, their forms and principles of government, are all foreign to us. They are nations of eternal war.”
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—Wyndham Lewis (1882–1957)
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—Susan Pecker Fowler (1823–1911)
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—Willis Goldbeck (1900–1979)