The Ammonium Nitrate Blast

On a clear morning in 1947, a small fire broke out in the cargo hold of a ship docked in Texas City. Onlookers gathered to watch the colorful smoke. They didn't know the ship was packed with over 2,000 tons of ammonium nitrate—the same chemical compound used in massive bombs. The resulting explosion vaporized the ship, triggered a localized tidal wave, and killed nearly 600 people. The Texas City...