In 1766 in Nottingham, England what began as anger over a poor harvest spiraled out of control, and soon rioters were breaking windows and stealing from shops. But it was the object of the looting that made this riot unique. The rioters were after cheese.
During the civil war, the manufacture of powder and explosives was often handled by the most vulnerable, young women and children, whose labor was needed when so many men had been sent off to war. On March 13, 1863, the confederacy experienced a munitions disaster, in the confederate capitol of Richmond.