Taken from an FDA display of 20 generic “cracker balls” juxtaposed to candy and other foods (1=cereal; 2=unknown, but probably candied peanuts; 5=cracker balls; 6=cereal; 9=jaw breakers; 10=cracker balls).

The Fourth of July always brings unfortunate stories of injuries from fireworks. The FDA is no stranger to this world. In the 1960s, FDA conducted over 100 seizure actions nationwide of small sphere-shaped fireworks that exploded when compressed or thrown against a hard surface. Functionally, they were not unlike what was hurled by Fred Astaire in his 4th of July dance routine in the 1942 classic movie “Holiday Inn.” Unfortunately, however, these explosives, known by brand names such as Cracker Balls, Ball Type Caps, and Single Shot Round Cap Balls, also looked like candy or cereal. The result, not surprisingly, was that at least 20 children who tried to eat them were injured, suffering burns, loosened teeth, and lacerated gums, tongues, and cheeks. And, according to one press account, a 4-year-old New York boy died after chewing one of these fireworks that contained arsenic.

From 1965 to 1966, the FDA seized over $100,000 worth of these products   from Atlanta to Seward, Alaska, under the authority of the Federal Hazardous Substances Labeling Act of 1960.  But seizing explosives comes with unique challenges.   In Mississippi, no nearby commercial storage facility could be found that would accept the quarter-ton of fireworks  seized there; in the end only a local dynamite company would accommodate them.  In St. Joseph, Missouri, as 400,000 of the balls were being pushed into a ditch to destroy them, the fireworks exploded, shattering nearby windows and throwing the operator from his bulldozer.