“BOOM!”  My body shook as the sky lit up.  I was standing behind a chain link fence in East River Park witnessing, for the first time, the Annual Macy’s Fourth of July Fireworks Spectacular. 

            Beginning at 9:25 P.M., three barges in the East River started launching gunpowder filled shells into the partly cloudy New York sky.  Each barge had a “MACYS” neon side that glowed in the darkness.  Even though it was drizzling throughout the show, the rain had no visible effect on the fireworks. 

This was interesting, I thought to myself.  “Why didn’t the rain extinguish the burning fragments of the shell once it exploded?”

I later found out that fireworks are made of the chemicals charcoal, sulfur, and potassium nitrate; the same stuff that’s inside flares.  The burning of these chemicals is a self-sustaining reaction, and is not dependent on external oxygen for fuel.  That was why the rain didn’t extinguish them.  In fact, fireworks, along with flares, can be fully immersed in water after they are lit and will still continue to burn (HowStuffWorks).

The next thought that came to my head, courtesy of Professor Mesznik, who is always telling us to think about these things, was: “How much must this grandiose display cost?”

I tried finding out directly from the source, but it turns out that Macy’s does not release any statistical data about the show.  So I found some estimates.  According to NYC Tourist, a popular travel site about New York, about 1,100 shells are fired per minute.  That translates to around 33,000 shells over the course of the 30 minute program (NYC Tourist).

The average cost of one of these shells is about $10.83 (Phantom Fireworks).  By simple multiplication, that puts the cost of the program at approximately $357,390.  So every year, Macy’s literally burns that much money away.

I believe that the money spent on this display could be put to better use.  The cost of feeding a family of six in South Africa for a week is only $30 (Foundation for Hospices).  That means that 71,478 people could be fed for an entire week from the money that Macy’s spends on fireworks.  These people would otherwise starve to death.  16,000 children die each day from starvation (Bread.org).  Statistically, that means that about 5 children died just during the 30 minute show.

Even though the Macy’s Fourth of July Fireworks Spectacular is enjoyed by millions of people, including myself, it is ridiculous to spend thousands of dollars on it while people are starving in Africa.  We should care more about the less fortunate souls all over the world.