Theoretically, this infernal machine was to be lit by an expert hand. It would then explode with the first, or lesser, explosion, which propelled an aerial charge of pure white TNT into the ambient air, theoretically vertical, for several hundred feet, and then - devastation! - not once, but several times, depending on the size of the bomb. It was not cheap, the smallest going for fifty cents and the largest for around three dollars, which in the days of the Depression was truly a capital investment. The mere sight of one of the larger specimens on the shelves of a fireworks stand sent waves of awe and excitement through the sparkler buyers. It was truly the big time."
- Jean Shepherd, Ludlow Kissell and the Dago Bomb that Struck Back
Is this the same person that wrote “The Christmas Story” about the Red Ryder BB gun? I can hear the narrator’s voice from the movie in that first line!
Was it an M-80 or “silver salute” that was silver, with a green fuse I believe. They were waterproof, and great for tossing in the pond, and experiments in water-filled soda bottles.