A powerful explosive made from nitroglycerin stabilized with an absorbent substance, or something exceptionally exciting.
Coined by Alfred Nobel in 1867 from Greek 'dynamis' meaning 'power.' Nobel created both the explosive and the word, later establishing the Nobel Prize partly from guilt over his invention's destructive potential.
Alfred Nobel invented dynamite to make explosives safer to handle, but was horrified when newspapers called him 'the merchant of death.' This prompted him to create the Nobel Peace Prize to leave a better legacy - talk about explosive guilt!
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