The best darn black powder

The majority of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad queue features wooden-railed switchbacks with several vistas overlooking the runaway mine trains. While switchback queues can be relatively boring and not as entertaining as, say, the queue for Kali River Rapids, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad uses the spaces it has available to offer guests some witty wordplay, and items that may cause some nervous laughter.

Of the many fabricated props and rusting machinery pieces littered about the grounds and mines of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, this single barrel, seen early on in the main level of the queue, is my personal favorite. The reminder adhered to the side of the barrel reads:

You are using
the best darn
Black Powder made
in these here
United States.
Handle With Care
DO NOT SPILL

Lytum and Hyde Explosives Co.
Sparks, Nevada

Looking at the warning alone, Lytum and Hyde, read light ‘em and hide, is the perfect name for a company dealing in explosives. When it comes to blasting, however, what is needed to set the whole shebang off? Why, one little spark of course, and Lytum and Hyde found the perfect place to find their sparks in Nevada.

Looking over the scene again, guests will quickly realize that someone did not read the instructions very carefully before pulling the cork out of the barrel and allowing it to spill out everywhere, including onto a fuse. Luckily, the queue for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is a non-smoking area. But wait, what is that piece of paper that the black powder has leaked onto? Why, it’s a map of the entire Big Thunder Mining Company’s operation!