This yr’s Fourth of July fireworks promise to be particularly explosive. The White Home is endeavoring to smash the Guinness World Report for the largest-ever pyrotechnic show by taking pictures off 50 occasions extra fireworks than final yr. As such, the nation will ring in 250 years with barbeques, parades, and prescription sedatives for his or her panicked pets.

I perceive the enchantment. As a baby, I beloved fireworks. Every year, I waited impatiently for darkness to fall and was thrilled when the rockets’ crimson glare streaked throughout the evening sky—after which fell into the coastal waters of Connecticut. And I’m removed from alone in my appreciation.