People can pick up free CDs of the recordings of firecracker sounds or download them from the government's website and play them during their family banquets, business openings or other celebrations.

BBC: Taipei residents urged to use CDs not firecrackers

To drive away evil spirits, 500, 000 rounds of eardrum-testing pyrotechnics will be set off at Sara Roosevelt Park in Chinatown at the New Year Firecracker Ceremony and Cultural Festival on 10 February, before lion and dragon dance troupes make the rounds to local businesses to ring in the Year of the Snake.

BBC: Celebrate Lunar New Year in New York City

The impact of some failed acquisitions for a mid-market company will be like a nuclear bomb, while others will only have the bite of a firecracker.

FORBES: The Lesson of H-P for Mid-Market Companies: With Acquisitions, (Really) Do Your Homework

His conversations with his hardworking firecracker of a mother, Anna, reveal the ethics that she steadfastly instilled in him.

NEWYORKER: The Real Dirt on Farmer John

As the plane neared Detroit, Schuringa said, he heard what sounded like a firecracker going off.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS

But it was more like a firecracker, one quick burst and then nothing, rather than fireworks where the display continues and continues.

FORBES: Yuan Shift A Baby Step, No Giant Leap