Since the birth of chemistry as a discipline in the 19th century, chemists have always been the "bomb-makers." Traditionally, this has been part of the allure for students for the "central science." Even students who will never be scientists consider chemistry for their science elective in part because chemists are the ones who "blow things up." Given the events of September 11, 2001, and terrorist activities worldwide, several questions arise: Has student attraction to chemistry dimmed in the U.S., post-9/11? Have chemistry instructors been forced by governmental or administrative authority to tone down the explosive side of chemical concepts? Or have instructors themselves independently decided to mute the detonations of the past? This article discusses what used to be done pre-9/11 versus changes that occurred post-9/11. The government is not breathing down citizens' necks when it comes to science education in the post-9/11 world. Citizens do not need to fear the police, whether at the local, state, or federal level. They need to fear, or at least monitor, their own self-imposed limits. Those limits ultimately harm students and take away from the inherent pedagogical freedom to be enjoyed in the United States.