Original photo by Fer Gregory/ Shutterstock
Throughout more than a century of publication, the Sears catalog was a go-to source for American shoppers seeking out standard home goods. But in addition to those traditional products, the catalog also offered some curious items for sale, including live chickens, 14-room mail-order houses, and even highly explosive dynamite. A 1902 edition of the catalog advertised dynamite as a tool for removing tree stumps, claiming it to be “far superior to any other agent.” The company also offered more powerful varieties that could be used for blasting into hard rock and even underwater. Sears sold dynamite for as little as 13 cents a pound — less than $5 today — along with all of the electric fuses, connecting wires, and blasting machines required for operation.
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It's a factThe Sears Tower (now the Willis Tower) stands 1,450 feet tall, making it the world’s tallest building from its completion in 1973 until 1996. It took the record from the North Tower of the World Trade Center (1,368 feet), and was surpassed by the Petronas Towers of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (1,483 feet).
There were no prerequisites for purchasing this dynamite, despite the obvious safety risks associated with amateur use. Instead, Sears promised to “mail a booklet giving full information” to “those who are not familiar with handling dynamite,” hoping buyers would carefully follow the instructions. The dynamite could be found in the catalog’s “sporting goods” section, just a few pages away from comparatively mundane products such as baseball uniforms and hammocks. Dynamite and other more unusual items were phased out as Sears largely trended toward selling housewares. In future editions of the catalog, Sears noted that “to conform with the insurance laws,” it had been “forced to omit carbide from [its] stock,” which prevented it from selling explosives and combustibles. The traditional Sears catalog was discontinued in 1993.
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In 1990, ______ surpassed Sears as the largest U.S. retailer.
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In 1990, Walmart surpassed Sears as the largest U.S. retailer.
Dynamite was invented by the namesake of the Nobel Prize.
Alfred Nobel was a Swedish chemist whose legacy consists of two major achievements: inventing dynamite and establishing the Nobel Prize. In 1862, Nobel opened a factory to produce nitroglycerin — an explosive liquid compound used in blasting mines. But the product was infamously unstable, and Nobel’s factory exploded in 1864. He spent the following years researching safer alternatives, and in 1867, he invented a more stable product by mixing nitroglycerin with kieselguhr (a porous rock). Nobel named this new compound dynamite — taken from the Greek dynamis, meaning “power” — and it earned him both global recognition as well as a staggering fortune.
After Nobel’s death in 1896, many wondered what would happen to his vast wealth. To the surprise of many, including his family, Nobel’s will mandated the money be used to establish a series of new international awards honoring annual achievement in topics including science, literature, and peace. After years of debated legal claims, the inaugural Nobel Prizes were awarded in 1901.
Bennett Kleinman is a New York City-based staff writer for Inbox Studio, and previously contributed to television programs such as "Late Show With David Letterman" and "Impractical Jokers." Bennett is also a devoted New York Yankees and New Jersey Devils fan, and thinks plain seltzer is the best drink ever invented.
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