We all know how Guy Fawkes’ plot to blow up the House of Lords in 1605 was foiled at the last minute, sentencing him to a brutal death, and the creation of the annual event of Bonfire Night. However, the actual practicality and possibility of his gunpowder to destroy the building and kill the assembled King and Lords has been much debated since as, when inspected post discovery, the gunpowder was found to be of poor quality and the wooden barrels were damp. Luckily, we now have are own demolition ...

Check out this video from English Heritage demonstrating the multiple stages necessary to fire a Brown Bess musket. The Brown Bess musket was the weapon of choice for riflemen during the rise of the British Empire and was used in numerous incarnations for over a hundred years. The musket, which is a .75 caliber flintlock, weighs over 10 pounds and is almost a meter and a half in length. Due to the many stages required to fire, as well as its unwieldily proportions in comparison to modern firearms, firing the musket ...