It’s time to once again celebrate our American independence and that means lots of fireworks! While some states highly regulate who can and can’t have fireworks, that doesn’t stop people from getting their hands on them! Take a look at these videos and you’ll understand how good times can go bad. Fast forward to 55 seconds to see what happens when this guy gets a lit bottle rocket stuck in the pants of his cargo shorts! This is one unhappy wake up call… And our grand finale wraps up with last year’s display in San Diego… that lasted about 15 seconds! Fireworks were first used to celebrate events in China as far back as the seventh century. Now, often computers control the more sophisticated displays, while the common man simply lights up his neighborhood! Some states have very little regulation on fireworks, while others ban them completely. Last weekend, I had the opportunity to visit a firework store in my old home state of Pennsylvania. As soon as you walk in, you are greeted at a counter that looks like it is right out of an auto parts store. They immediately scan your driver’s license, take your phone number, and print out a receipt you must sign that you will not light off any fireworks in the state of Pennsylvania that go up into the air. You are then greeted with two doors. Since, I am no longer a PA resident, I got to go through the OUT OF STATE door, and it is one massive store of fireworks. It actually was set up just like a Staples or Office Depot, with carts and aisles upon aisles of fireworks. You could buy sparklers for $1 all the way up to $1,000 box assortments. Most of the stuff was BUY ONE GET ONE FREE! It’s amazing that they have to have a sale at a fireworks store! If you are a Pennsylvania resident, you are forced through the PA door, which is basically four or five tables of sparklers, snappers, and those weird black snake things that burn on the sidewalk. Before you leave, there are several check out counters just like in any other store. I did not make any purchases; I was there with a group of friends that just wanted to browse around. Suffice it to say, the security at that fireworks store was as tight as a bank, or a gentlemen’s club! It actually felt wrong to be walking around in there! My first visit to a fireworks store was years ago in the Nevada desert. It was a small store off to the side of a truck stop and they enforced a strict NO CELL PHONE OR PICTURES rule. But, of course being in Nevada, there was a small casino in the back! Fireworks can be a fun filled part of the Fourth – just make sure they are in the right hands. And check your local laws to see what is permitted in your area.   THE 411 Name: fireworks What: pyrotechnic device to celebrate holidays Origin: China   JERSEY JOE RECOMMENDS: Have a happy and safe 4th of July weekend – just be careful if you will putting on a display at home. Leave the big stuff to the professionals!   Image credits – SJPhotography &...

This summer, another fast food fight will heat up and it’s not over hamburgers, but pork!  Burger King has just begun serving up a BBQ Rib Sandwich to take on the McDonald’s McRib: a sandwich so out there – it has a cult following.  Can this new BK sandwich take the crown from the McRib?  I’m already declaring the victor! The McDonald’s McRib may be one of the most mysterious, yet delicious sandwiches the restaurant has ever served up.  The McRib first went on sale nationwide in 1982 after a few months of test marketing. The sandwich consists of a pork patty, dill pickles, onion slivers, and BBQ sauce on a dusty 5 ½” roll.  The McRib was not an immediate hit and was removed from all menus in 1985.  Since 1989, it would reappear regionally for only a few select weeks of the year.  Not every McDonald’s carried the item and only in select regions of the United States.  (A rare exception was when it was briefly sold nationally in 1994 to tie into The Flintstones Movie and a McRib, Jr. was briefly sold in 2000 on a regular hamburger bun.) The limited availability of the sandwich gave it a large cult following with some McRib addicts (such as me) driving to another state to get one.  When I first moved to the New York City area, no local McDonald’s sold it, leaving me to drive to southern New Jersey or Pennsylvania. I also once got to enjoy a Double McRib, a sort of secret version, at a McDonald’s on the southern end of the Las Vegas strip. The sandwich became so popular; it was even parodied on an episode of The Simpsons and made fun of on How I Met Your Mother. A website, The McRib Locator, allows fans to track where the sandwich is being served in the United States each year. Even after a series of promotional campaigns saying they would end the sandwich, McDonald’s again serves McRibs nationwide for a few weeks each year.  It was last served in the US from December 2012 – early February 2013.  A location will serve what they have until supplies run out. Every time the sandwich is served, McDonald’s core sales increase by several percent.  People do flock to their restaurants for one.  When the McRib was offered for sale in New Zealand, it was supposed to be for a six week run to tie into the Olympic Games, but hungry fans exhausted supplies in days! Looking to cash in on the sandwich’s fame and to boost sales this summer, Burger King has introduced their own version: The Burger King Rib Sandwich. The Burger King Rib Sandwich follows the same basic build as the McRib, but with a few differences.  While both contain pork meat ground up into a boneless patty, Burger King’s seems to have a more solid consistency.  A Time magazine article has found the McRib is made with 70 different ingredients, including fillers that are also used to make athletic gym mats. McDonald’s McRib sauce is a bit spicy; where as Burger King’s sauce is a bit sweet. The pickles McDonald’s uses on their McRib are dill, where The Burger King Rib Sandwich’s are sweet. There are NO onions on the Burger King Rib Sandwich. McDonald’s uses a small hoagie style roll to serve theirs’ and the patty is rectangular, where as Burger King uses an artesian roll and their patty is circular. I hit the drive through at the Burger King near the Holland Tunnel and ordered up the value meal that includes fries or onion rings and a drink.  Both restaurants offer a small, medium, or large value meal.  I chose the medium for my dinner and the cost was $6.39, plus tax.  (Suggested price for the sandwich alone is $3.49) I could see the countdown clock behind the drive through window...

The Statue of Liberty has been standing guard at the mouth of New York harbor since her dedication on October 28, 1886.  She is a symbol of welcome to immigrants arriving to the United States.  She has been closed for six months due to damage from Superstorm Sandy.  However, one part of her structure has been sealed off to visitors after a terror attack nearly a century ago. Given as a gift from the people of France, Lady Liberty was designed and constructed by artist Frederic Bartholdi.  Completed in stages, parts of the new statue were displayed in both France, New York, and at international expositions before being crated up and shipped to the US.  Once the appropriate funds were raised, she was assembled on what was then called Bedloe’s Island, now known as Liberty Island. The statue, representing the Roman goddess of freedom, features one foot moving forward to symbolize progress and a broken chair at her feet.  She holds a tablet with the inscription July 4, 1776, the date of American independence from the British. New York City held its first ticker tape parade to celebrate that statue’s completion with President Grover Cleveland on hand for the festivities and dedication. The statue has welcomed millions of visitors over the years.  When the statue reopens, visitors will once again be able to climb the long spiral staircase to the crown and take a peek out the windows high above the harbor for spectacular views of New York City and the busy waterway. But, there was once another part of the statue visitors were permitted to tour, until a terror attack that occurred in 1916 known as “The Black Tom Explosion.” Black Tom was once an island in the New York Harbor located a short distance from the Statue of Liberty.  The island was connected to the mainland Jersey City, New Jersey by a long causeway and railroad track.  Eventually, the area between the mainland and island was filled in and officially became part of the city.  A huge pier and warehouses were also constructed on the site. The island became a major munitions depot where American companies were able to sell weapons and ammunitions, which were in large demand across the Atlantic for the upcoming World War I.  Being allied with France and Britain, they were the only two countries allowed to make purchases from the depot. After midnight on July 30, 1916, several small fires were discovered on the pier.  While some locals tried to extinguish the flames themselves, the Jersey City Fire Department was called in. At 2:08am, a major explosion took place with residents being shaken from their beds by earthquake like vibrations that registered between 5.0 and 5.5 on the Richter Scale. The force was so powerful, that windows were blown out all over Manhattan and as far as 25 miles away.  The Brooklyn Bridge was shaken, but undamaged.  The outer wall of Jersey City’s City Hall was cracked and a large clock in the Journal Square neighborhood over a mile away was hit and damaged. The noise and vibration could be felt as far away as Maryland and Connecticut. On Ellis Island, frightened immigrants that were being processed at the time were evacuated by ferry to Manhattan. The Statue of Liberty took $100,000 in damage after shrapnel pierced many parts, including several pieces that lodged in the arm.  As a result the torch, outer walkway, and arm were permanently closed.   The narrow hatchway inside that once welcomed visitors is still gated off to the public, but does allow access for employees to conduct repairs. According to historic records and government investigations, the munitions were set on fire by the Germans, who did not want the weapons to make it across the Atlantic due to a military blockade. Several different conclusions have been drawn as to how the fire was carried out, with one...