Jules Verne and Nitroglycerin.

I was in my 12s, being a botanist-briller, stunned at spectacular chemical shows, trying to make nitroglycerin from this book. The resulting liquid spontaneously boiled, eaten my pants, hand, curtain and completely spoiled the ceiling. So thank God there was no exact recipe, or FIG knows what it would be. Well, I suspect that the acid was too unconcentrated.