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ZwischenzugZugzwang t1_ixopj1g wrote

Reply to comment by super-hombre in TIL a few months before his death in 1896, Alfred Nobel was prescribed nitroglycerin for this heart condition. by Ganacsi

It is. I think this fact is notable because Nobel invented (or popularized? I'd have to look it up) TNT

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Goalie_deacon t1_ixos2ag wrote

Okay, Nobel didn’t invent nitroglycerin. Dynamite was Nobel’s invention to make handling nitroglycerin safer. He created the Nobel Peace Price because his fear that he made a great weapon. None of that makes this as interesting as he created dynamite after his brother died from nitroglycerin explosion. What killed one brother kept the other brother alive a bit longer, and a legend.

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Devil_May_Kare t1_ixptinr wrote

Dynamite. He invented dynamite. That's a way of stabilizing nitroglycerin so it won't explode if you look at it funny.

TNT is a different explosive that's inherently more stable than nitroglycerin, so it doesn't need extra stabilization.

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