They even blew up underwater!
The M80 made ALL other toys a hundred times more interesting, for one instant usually.
When I was about 12, our public library had a weatherbeaten hardbound book called something like "The Boys Book of Fun" that showed you useful things like how to make a motor out of tincan parts and LIQUID MERCURY. No kidding. Another useful thing was the article on how to DISMANTLE ROMAN CANDLES and repackage them to do cool new things.
One of my pet peeves is Government protecting me from fireworks. John Adams said the 4th should be celebrated with them, good enough for me. Anyway, I propose we do with fireworks what they have done with Sex Ed in the schools. We should teach young boys ABOUT fireworks. "They love them. They are "going to get them ANYWAY" and will only want them more if you tell them no! We should teach them all about fireworks...how to make them, where to use them, maybe demonstrate how to set them off in class. And as "Protection", every boy should be given REALLY LONG MATCHES for free, without their parents knowledge, just to make sure they are 'safe'."
Many a red ant hill is now a crater thanks to them!
I am certainly familiar with both of these “toys”.
Wow you could make a Mercury Bomb with that, nothing like an expanding cloud of mercury vapour powered by a m-80 to literally drive the neighbor kids insane!!!!