Exploding cigars sound like something out of a cartoon, right alongside banana peels and anvils. For a surprisingly long stretch of history, however, prank cigars packed with small explosive charges were sold as real products. They were not just gag gifts either. Some of them caused serious injuries and ended up in courtrooms and state laws.

How Exploding Cigars Worked

Commercial exploding cigars used small devices hidden inside the tobacco. One model involved a little spring held in place by string. As the cigar burned down, the string snapped and the spring popped, sending bits of cigar flying. Others used small amounts of pyrotechnic mix. The idea was to create a loud pop and a shower of sparks or tobacco fragments, preferably right in the face of an unsuspecting smoker.

When Pranks Turned Into Lawsuits

Not everyone thought these pranks were funny. At the start of the twentieth century, newspapers reported cases in which people were injured badly enough to sue. In one 1902 case, a man named Edward Weinschreider sued a cigar shop after an exploding cigar burned his hand so badly that three fingers had to be amputated. Legal commentators later pointed to this as an example of a product with almost no legitimate use and a very high risk of harm.

Laws Against Exploding Cigars

Over time, lawmakers decided that selling miniature explosives disguised as tobacco was a bad idea. Massachusetts passed a law in 1967 that banned the sale of exploding cigars outright. Other places used general safety regulations and consumer product rules to keep them off the shelves.

By the late twentieth century, exploding cigars had mostly disappeared from real life and retreated into cartoons, spy stories, and comedy sketches, where they still show up as a symbol of backfiring pranks.

In Short

• Exploding cigars were once a real novelty item, not just a cartoon gag, and they caused injuries that led to lawsuits and bans.
• They eventually became an example of a product whose risk outweighed any “fun,” which made it easier for lawmakers to justify banning them.
• Today, if you see an exploding cigar, it is probably on a screen, which is a much safer place for it to stay.