STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Good morning. I'm Steve Inskeep. Remember that old safety advice - if your fireworks don't go off, lean over the top and shake them. That's a joke but this is not. John Fletcher of Michigan celebrated Independence Day by setting off 10,500 firecrackers attached to his body. He's done this for years. In the past, he's fractured ribs and been knocked unconscious. This year, he only got a bloody nose. Though he admits, he says, he is a little nuts. It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.