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When I was in middle school I took a class at OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry) called "explosive chemistry". We made black powder, sparklers, bombs, blew up water-filled pop cans with sodium, and all sorts of other things that would never be allowed today.

It was great fun.

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i went to academic summer camps basically from sixth grade on (Duke TIP-affiliated stuff), and one year i took chemistry class. one of the three weeks was "uncontrolled oxidation" week. lots of fun. :) the biggest takeaway was that potassium perchlorate plus almost anything equals cool. i think my favorite was equal parts potassium perchlorate and sugar in a half-coke can. take outside and add a couple drops of sulfuric acid--ten-foot cone of flame.

for reference this would be, hmm, i think 1995? somewhere between 94 and 97, anyway.

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