While beautiful to the outside observer, fireworks and related pyrotechnic devices are extremely dangerous and volatile, and should only be handled by professionals in accordance with federal and state regulations.
Got it? Good. Now that we got that out of the way, let's watch a bunch of fireworks going hilariously out of control!
To be clear, we're not about to show you videos of anyone getting hurt; we're more interested in funny videos of fireworks going haywire. Also — and we cannot stress this enough — we are not advocating that you use pyrotechnics in any of the following manners.
That said, if you decide to ignore all safety precautions and set off a bunch of bottle rockets in your backyard, do everybody a favor and film it for YouTube:
San Diego's Fireworks Display Goes Off All at Once
Let's start things off with a (really big) bang, shall we? In 2012, San Diego's annual fireworks display — known as the Big Bay Boom — accidentally ignited all at once, turning what should've been a 17-minute show into a frantic 30-second display.
Fido Commandeers the Fireworks
Most dogs might be afraid of an exploding cardboard tube shooting fiery projectiles, but not this one.
Guy Attaches Roman Candles to a Drone, Chases Friends Around
Not content to simply fire their Roman candles into the sky, YouTube user Andy Stewart fired them at his friends. From a drone. While they were in their underwear. (Skip to 0:45 for Andy's first and only hit).
Baby Freaks Out Over Fireworks
OK, so this fireworks display didn't go "hilariously out of control," but the tiny infant in the audience seems to think so.
Italian Fireworks Display Goes Off All at Once
You'd think these folks in Italy would've learned from San Francisco's mistake, but no.
That's a LOT of Firecrackers
It's hard to tell if anything actually goes out of control during this Chinese street festival, but we can't imagine they intended for their own powerlines to (nearly) go up in flames.
Rouketopolemos Is the Rocket-Pocalypse
During the annual festival of Rouketopolemos in the Greek town of Vrontados, two congregations from opposite ends of the village fire homemade rockets at each other's churches. The goal is to ring the opposing church's bell (and avoid getting maimed, we assume).
Guy Builds Himself Firework-Proof Suit, Stands Inside Fireworks Display
English inventor and stuntman Colin Furze is no stranger to fireworks and doing stupid things with said fireworks (see here, here and here), but his most impressive feat might be standing inside an active fireworks display.