My word for today is “fizgig”, a type of firework that makes a loud hiss. I consider this an onomatopoeic word, given the “fiz” characterizes the sound.
Residents of Saint Paul, where I grew up, must be fizzing their mayor today after he canceled the city’s fireworks this year due to budget concerns. Boo, hiss!
More commonly, fireworks are frowned upon due to safety concerns. For example, a Florida television station broadcast a warning yesterday that Independence Day revelers should be careful not to “be a statistic” by shooting off fireworks. I don’t get this. Isn’t being a statistic a good thing?
An enterprising fireworks vendor turned the statistics around in a very creative way by touting a long-term trend toward fewer injuries per pound of pyrotechnics—citing a decrease of more than 50% since 1994. I find this fellows numerical and sentimental arguments in favor of fireworks very compelling: Check it out here.
“It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.”
– John Adams, July 3, 1776