Explosives
Death by Manhole Cover
Posted By: Paul - Mon Aug 26, 2024 -
Comments (1)
Category: Death, Explosives, Luck, Good and Bad, Urban Life, 1930s
Exploding Easter Eggs
Happy Easter!
Sioux City Journal - Mar 28, 1983
Posted By: Alex - Sun Apr 09, 2023 -
Comments (4)
Category: Explosives, Holidays, Easter, Eggs, 1980s
USA-Issued “Explosives and Blasting Procedure Manual”
Despite a Federal history of discouraging DIY explosives handbooks, the OFFICE of SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION and ENFORCEMENT is happy to host their own explosives guidebook online.Read it here.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Sep 11, 2021 -
Comments (6)
Category: Explosives, Government, Hobbies and DIY, Industry, Factories and Manufacturing
Exploding Pacemakers
In the late 1970s, crematoriums began to report that, on occasion, bodies would violently explode while being burned, often causing structural damage. The problem was soon traced to pacemakers that were turning corpses into bombs. Awareness of the problem has lessened the frequency of the explosions, but they do still occur.An article in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine (July 2002) offers some background info:
Though these explosions are infrequent, in some crematoria there is more than one explosion per year. Pacemaker explosions can damage the cremator, breaking doors or brickwork. The noise of an explosion may cause distress. Sometimes, pacemaker remains are found. Injury to staff is fortunately rare.
McLean County News - July 23, 1981
Posted By: Alex - Wed Mar 04, 2020 -
Comments (3)
Category: Death, Explosives
Exploding Cows and People
The fact that Hindus consider cows to be sacred has led to the odd situation in India in which millions of cows freely roam the streets, and all efforts to control their numbers are stymied by cow-rights groups.That's an interesting topic (more info here), but the 1961 headline below implies an entirely different, and somewhat messier kind of problem.
Posted By: Alex - Mon Oct 28, 2019 -
Comments (0)
Category: Explosives, Religion, Cows
Exploding Dog Food
This happened in 1973, but it seems that cans of dog food explode somewhat frequently (see here and here). So perhaps this is a 'no longer weird' phenomenon.
The Lompoc Record - Feb 9, 1973
Posted By: Alex - Sat Oct 05, 2019 -
Comments (1)
Category: Explosives, 1970s
Asbestos-Clad, Fireworks-Laden Boxers
Original is here.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Sep 12, 2019 -
Comments (2)
Category: Daredevils, Stuntpeople and Thrillseekers, Death, Excess, Overkill, Hyperbole and Too Much Is Not Enough, Explosives, Foreign Customs, 1930s
Another Exploding Toilet
In Port Charlotte, Florida, a lightning strike ignited methane in the sewer system, which then caused a toilet inside a house to explode. The plumber who later came to investigate noted: "This is probably the first time in history something like this has happened."Well, maybe it's the first time lightning has caused a toilet to explode (I'm not sure... can't think of another example offhand), but it's definitely not the first time a toilet has randomly exploded. That's a recurring weird-news phenomenon. Other instances we've posted about here, here, and here.
More info: Wash Post
Posted By: Alex - Sat Aug 10, 2019 -
Comments (1)
Category: Bathrooms, Explosives
Nuking the Moon
Project A119, also known as A Study of Lunar Research Flights, was a top-secret plan developed in 1958 by the United States Air Force. The aim of the project was to detonate a nuclear bomb on the Moon, which would help in answering some of the mysteries in planetary astronomy and astrogeology. If the explosive device detonated on the surface, not in a lunar crater, the flash of explosive light would have been faintly visible to people on Earth with their naked eye, a show of force resulting in a possible boosting of domestic morale in the capabilities of the United States, a boost that was needed after the Soviet Union took an early lead in the Space Race and was also working on a similar project.
The project was never carried out, being cancelled primarily out of a fear of a negative public reaction, with the potential militarization of space that it would also have signified, and because a Moon landing would undoubtedly be a more popular achievement in the eyes of the American and international public alike. A similar project by the Soviet Union also never came to fruition.
Wikipedia page here.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Jun 10, 2019 -
Comments (1)
Category: Antisocial Activities, Daredevils, Stuntpeople and Thrillseekers, Explosives, Frauds, Cons and Scams, Government, Mad Scientists, Evil Geniuses, Insane Villains, Spaceflight, Astronautics, and Astronomy, 1950s, North America, Russia
Happy July 4th 2018!
May all WU-vies have a fun and safe holiday!
Posted By: Paul - Wed Jul 04, 2018 -
Comments (6)
Category: Destruction, Excess, Overkill, Hyperbole and Too Much Is Not Enough, Explosives, Fairs, Amusement Parks, and Resorts, Family, Fireworks and Pyrotechnics, Food, Holidays
| Who We Are |
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| Alex Boese Alex is the creator and curator of the Museum of Hoaxes. He's also the author of various weird, non-fiction, science-themed books such as Elephants on Acid and Psychedelic Apes. Paul Di Filippo Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over thirty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. He has recently begun blogging on many curious topics with three fellow writers at The Inferior 4+1. Contact Us |