Where does this come from, and can I check it?

Nitrate stock could burn underwater and its fires killed people. The figure is taken from George Eastman Museum, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.

Is this really a movies & tv fact?

Yes. It sits on the Movies & TV shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.

What else can I read about it?

The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.

Mondo Knows Facts

Early cinema film was dangerously flammable

Nitrate stock could burn underwater and its fires killed people Film base made of cellulose nitrate was used until the early 1950s and was chemically close to guncotton. It could ignite from a hot lamp and burn while releasing oxygen, so it was hard to put out. Fires in projection booths and film stores killed people and destroyed archives, which is why safety stock was adopted. It sits in Mondo's movies & tv collection, one of 200 facts that each trace back to the reference below.

Where this comes from

George Eastman Museum

Facts that can change over time are reviewed and updated. If something here looks wrong, Mondo would rather know than be confidently incorrect.

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More facts like this

Nitrate film is stored in isolated vaultsArchives separate it because a fire could spread through a collection High thermal processing destroys heat-resistant spores in canningPressure canning reaches high temperatures to eliminate Clostridium botulinum spores Safety film replaced nitrate in the 1950sAcetate stock burned slowly, though it decayed into vinegar over time Kinescopes filmed live television off a screenA camera pointed at a monitor preserved broadcasts before videotape The Academy keeps its own film archiveIts collection holds thousands of titles for preservation and study The National Film Registry began in 1988Congress created it to preserve films of cultural and historical importance

Tags: nitrate, preservation, safety

Early cinema film was dangerously flammable: the short answers

Where does this come from, and can I check it?: Nitrate stock could burn underwater and its fires killed people. The figure is taken from George Eastman Museum, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
Is this really a movies & tv fact?: Yes. It sits on the Movies & TV shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
What else can I read about it?: The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.