Cordite smell at the Pentagon on 9/11

Many of the eyewitnesses to the 9/11/2001 attack on the Pentagon reported the smell of cordite. Cordite can be used as a solid rocket fuel.

cord·ite /ˈkɔrdaɪt/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[kawr-dahyt] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun
a smokeless, slow-burning powder composed of 30 to 58 percent nitroglycerin, 37 to 65 percent cellulose nitrate, and 5 to 6 percent mineral jelly.
Also called pyrocellulose.

[Origin: 1885–90; cord + -ite1, so called from its cordlike form]

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