Alfred Nobel is famous these days for the award established in his name: the Nobel Peace Prize. Mr. Nobel was very interested in peace because of how his brother died. Back in 1864, Nobel’s nitroglycerine factory exploded killing his younger brother. Alfred was determined after that day to find a safer explosive than nitroglycerine. What he invented was dynamite. Dynamite takes the very unstable nitroglycerine and makes it into a safer (but still explosive) compound. Alfred was still interested in peace, even after sales of his explosive dynamite made him rich.
Join us on Thinker Thursdays to learn about people who have had great ideas, strange ideas, or really used their heads.