The political philosophy of “saving people from their own stupidity” and deaths from tetanus are the reason why fireworks, once a backyard activity, are now public spectacles in the U.S. A campaign, started in 1912, restricted the sale of at home firecrackers and drove the manufacturers to create large scale pyrotechnics for exhibitions. Fireworks-related tetanus deaths are still occuring in the Philippines around New Year’s, the traditional time to make lots of noise. This Philippine article says that horse manure is used to make firecrackers, making tetanus easy to contract from a firecracker wound. Even if your wound heals, the tetanus germs may still be breeding inside. I’m not sure if that is what caused the U.S. tetanus cases; one would think that they would have just banned the use of manure, but, as we know, the government doesn’t always fix the root cause.