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PARETO POPPERS

by: The Weeklies Gang

This puzzle was designed for the week 4 of Zachtronics / Coincidence Discord server's 2025 Opus Magnum Weeklies.
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REAGENT
Elemental Fire
Bistabilized Salt

PRODUCT
Pareto Popper

(Lore by gooey)

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It is inarguable that Vilfredus Pareto, former Professor of the Imperial University, introduced to our most noble Art inventions and innovations too numerous to catalogue efficiently—an irony that would not have been lost on the late scholar. However, among students of the University there is one that, to this day, must surely stand above the others, if only for the unique role it has played in the history of their education.

The Pareto Popper, as it has come to be known, began its life as a novel form of gunpowder which, while still volatile, is rendered entirely harmless thanks to the presence of stabilizing salt. A small pellet of the substance, contained in a twist of paper, will produce a miniature controlled explosion following a modest impulse, such as being thrown on the ground. The characteristic popping sound so produced, while useless for combat, found appreciation amongst Pareto’s students, some of whom instantly identified its potential applications in the pursuit of japery.

The subsequent proliferation of the Pareto Popper throughout the whole student body ultimately led to a sternly worded Writ of Notice, which was penned by the Dean and nailed to the dormitory doors. Among the provisions of the Notice was a decree that the use of the Glyph of Triplex Bonding would henceforth be prohibited to first- and second-year students, with all subsequent usage subject to strict faculty supervision. The ban would remain in place until such time as was deemed appropriate. As of the publication of this History, more than a century has passed—and yet the decree has still not been revoked…

—Excerpt from Studium Perfectum: A Short History of the Imperial University, by Thaddeus Tern