![pink smoke](https://www.popsci.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/30/TPUBPRJXOPJ535OPUBBFYA4ESM.jpg?quality=85&w=1500)
![pink smoke](https://www.popsci.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/30/TPUBPRJXOPJ535OPUBBFYA4ESM.jpg?quality=85&w=1500)
You see Ken Miller’s smoke displays at NFL games and air shows. What you don’t see are the explosions, DIY rockets, and smoldering craters that speckle his Minnesota farm. His personal pyrotechnic experiments don’t belong on the 50 yard line or in anyone’s backyard.
![fireworks shot out of a vehicle](https://www.popsci.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/30/WXZRFV5BSTVCYCN7MOMK54UJQA.jpg?strip=all&quality=85)
![red rocket flares on a wire rack](https://www.popsci.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/30/GZF4P7NGH72TEY2FPRRKNCYAXU.jpg?strip=all&quality=85)
![Ken Miller working on fireworks](https://www.popsci.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/30/TEPOOKYPXEVMJ4OEA3W67XWZSE.jpg?strip=all&quality=85)
![a rocket launch in an alfalfa field](https://www.popsci.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/30/FX2ZXW5P27UKMOQZTSOAA5TTMY.jpg?strip=all&quality=85)
![ignited magnesium at night](https://www.popsci.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/30/3NOLNHUSMDJY4TKVMGLVCBYWUA.jpg?strip=all&quality=85)
![Ken Miller working on fireworks at night in a lit garage](https://www.popsci.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/30/KBUF34FPT2FGDX7YR2RYMMJZRQ.jpg?strip=all&quality=85)
![packaged professional smoke bombs](https://www.popsci.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/30/ZLAXEZZZ5C4AKDEMXIL52BXQ7M.jpg?strip=all&quality=85)
![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/9Jt7ZrcuZh0/hqdefault.jpg)
![magnesium caked hole in yard](https://www.popsci.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/30/LL44IQZK2NPL535WFUA2NHBAAU.jpg?strip=all&quality=85)
![dryer on fire](https://www.popsci.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/30/YJKGQCVSM3QYHZVEUU4PPJBQ2Y.jpg?strip=all&quality=85)