Dynamite Is Made with Peanuts

It might seem strange to link a common lunchbox snack with a powerful explosive, but the chemical connection is surprisingly direct. The journey from farm to demolition site begins with peanut oil, which, like all vegetable oils, is rich in triglycerides. When these oils are processed, often during the soap-making process known as saponification, a sweet, viscous liquid called glycerol is produced as a byproduct. This glycerol is the crucial ingredient that can be chemically altered, through a process called nitration, to become the highly unstable explosive nitroglycerin.

This link was famously promoted by agricultural scientist George Washington Carver. In his quest to find new applications for the peanut to help Southern farmers, Carver identified over 300 uses, including the production of glycerol for industrial purposes. Meanwhile, it was Alfred Nobel who tamed the volatile nitroglycerin. He discovered that by absorbing it into a porous, inert substance like diatomaceous earth, he could create a much more stable and manageable explosive: dynamite. So, while you won't find peanut chunks in a stick of dynamite, the chemical pathway provides a very real link between the humble legume and the powerful explosive.