Ever try Conestoga Toy Company Bangsite! stuff? Cannon and tanks etc that use CaCl. and you spark em off with a striker. Old school toys (dad had them in the 50s.) Still made. lots of fun till you have to clean them. I have my dads and my uncles. use them on the 4th of July, like dad did when he was around.
Oh yeah. Bangsite is calcium carbide. Once we discovered that we graduated to buying it in 2lb cans sold for use in miner’s lamps.