This site has wonderful pictures of a Sparkler Bomb going off.

This page, however, is unusual. Here you will learn the essentials of making an improvised firework which, while spectacular, is also both as predictable and as safe as something that blasts a mighty shower of sparks 50 feet into the air can reasonably be expected to be. I have made many of these things. I have been quite close to them when they went off. I have never so much as lost any hair, which is more than I can say about the results of some of my other half-baked pyrotechnic experiments.
...

Once the plinth is formed, flip the bomb the right way up, insert the fuse sparkler in the middle of the top so that a couple of inches stick out, show the bomb to the crowd and set off for the firing zone. The qualities a firing zone should have are as follows:

1. No groundcover you’re very attached to. The bomb will scorch a circle about a foot across on the ground, so it is impolite to set one off on, say, the local putting green. The bomb will also leave an indelible white blast-mark on non-flammable surfaces, so don't set one off on priceless mosaic tiling.

2. No overhanging trees, power wires or anything else. Make no assumptions about the height the spark blast will reach. If there’s something between ground zero and the sky within a 20 foot radius, find a new site.

3. Nothing nearby that can’t stand a falling spark or two. Most of the sparks go out before they make it back down to the ground, but not all do. Priceless Lamborghinis, high-strung Chihuahuas and piles of dry leaves should not be in the area. It is also quite possible for a spark to fall into the eye of a too-close spectator, so keep ‘em back. If a breeze is blowing, it will blow the sparks; bear this in mind and stand upwind.

4. No law-abiding neighbours who will get prodigiously alarmed and call out the National Guard when a Bloody Great Tower Of Flame erupts outside their bedroom window. This is not an unreasonable response. If you’re doing Weird Things, have the decency to do them in unpopulated areas where there’s nothing of value. This makes it much harder for anybody to complain.

thanks to Making Light

This reminded me of a site that was one of the first ones I saw on the web. It was late 1995 methinks. I went to Google and typed in "liquid oxygen barbecue" and it was still there!

George Goble (GHG) [EXTENDED HOME PAGE]

Still photo or an MPEG MOVIE of lighting of the grill with 3 gallons of liquid oxygen. Started with 60 lbs of charcoal, and burnt up 40 lbs of it in 3 seconds. Result is a grill ready to cook in about 3 seconds, and all the old grease, etc burned off. Don't try this at home.

Great pictures!

Which reminds me of a camping trip about the same time. It was at Second Beach at La Push on the Washington coast. It was with a number of friends. The were all male and in their late 20s. I had my three kids with me. They must have been between 12 and 15 at the time.

It was a cool overcast day but we had a great time exploring up and down the beach. That night we built a large bonfire on the beach. One of my friends put a no. 10 can in the fire and put a bunch of old candles in the can. After a while the candle wax was melted and there were flames on the top of the melted candle wax.

At this point everyone moved way back and upwind. On of my friends was downwind from the fire, and the can of melted wax, with a cup of water. He jogged towards the can and, as he came up to the can, dumped the water into the burning candle wax and ran like hell.

The wax was superheated. The water, being heavier than the liquid burning candle wax, went right to the bottom of the no. 10 can. As quickly as the water went to the bottom of the can, because of the intense heat, it turned to steam and blew the burning liquid candle wax into the air where it quickly oxidized forming a 30 foot fireball.

Physics. Isn't it wonderful?

My kids thought I had cool friends.