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Electric Firecrackers

 Noisemakers for a post-9/11 world
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Chinese New Year is greeted with lion dances, lanterns and, of course, noisy red firecrackers to chase away the evil spirits.

Fireworks have long been banned in NY, but were marginally tolerated for Chinese New Year celebrations. Since 9/11, however, all things explosive have been policed off the streets, and the firecrackers have been purged from the celebrations. Even some Chinese cities have banned fireworks for safety reasons.

Now, of course, there is no mechanism to scare off the evil spirits that accompany the turn of the Chinese year, possibly the reason for NY's bad luck of late.

So, enter our electric firecrackers. Using much the same technology as camera flashes, these little red tubes each take a AA battery and come rolled in long bundles. Activated by switch, they make an ear-splitting but entirely safe racket with accompanying flashes of light. Perfect for street parties and scaring away those evil spirits.

—DrCurry, Dec 20 2003

(?) I thought everything was activated by Switch, http://www.switch.co.uk/home.asp
[po, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 06 2004]

Helium Moltovaloon http://www.halfbake...lium_20Molotovaloon
[bungston, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]

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       what about quiet crackers? like me :)
—po, Dec 20 2003
   

       You crack me up, po!
—Letsbuildafort, Dec 20 2003
   

       Another adaptation would be something along the lines of [AO]'s Helium Moltovaloon. These need not expand into conventional balloons but could become convoluted flowers, demonic heads and all manner of things. One could pull the string then throw them up off a float. They should be roughly neutrally buoyant.   

       Alternatively, a two stage pressurized system with regular air could jet these things up to 100 feet where they expand then gently settle back down. This would have the added bonus of beachball-type crowd batting as the giant balloons settled.
—bungston, Dec 20 2003
   

       I remember going to Angel's baseball games back in Califormia and the grounds keepers HATED beachballs. If they captured one they'd maul it with a rake. Pretty priceless to see a gand of over-weight guys in grey uniforms chasing beachballs with rakes.
—Letsbuildafort, Dec 20 2003
   

       They do have toys called digital fireworks. They are tiny, loud, flashing, things that you fling through the air with a rubber band.   

       They don't have digital firecarckers though, so this could be made.   

       Nice idea though.
—thelambs, Dec 20 2003
   

       po: you may be quiet, but you're really quite a cracker.
bungston: um, what does that have to do with firecrackers?
—DrCurry, Dec 20 2003
   


 

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