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Folks in San Diego witnessed what was either the worst Fourth of July fireworks celebration — or the absolute best — when a technical malfunction caused all of their pyrotechnics to go off at the same time. The annual Big Bay Boom extravaganza began and ended in spectacular fashion when an inadvertent signal set off the explosions about five minutes early and caused the entire 18 minute show to take place in about 15 seconds. Confused spectators waited around for what they thought was going to be the rest of the show, but were sent home and told the show (that was supposed to be choreographed to music) was canceled.

Some fans may been been disappointed, but at least the rest of us got some cool pictures and video out of it. Here's two of the best. First a photo, posted on Instagram by user Ben Baller (and "liked" by about 10,000 people) then one of several videos of the show posted on YouTube. Enjoy your birthday present, America!

This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.