man vs. fly
A little over a week ago, I posted about a woman who, in 1985, managed to blow the roof off her house while trying to kill some insects. Now recent news has provided a follow-up:
I checked to see if Chuck had ever decided that people destroying their homes while trying to kill insects was a 'No Longer Weird' type of story, and yes, he had! In his Sept 18, 2016 column, he listed the following story under the 'no longer weird' heading:
A man has blown up part of his house in France while trying to swat a fly. The man, who is in his 80s, was about to tuck into his dinner when he became irritated by a fly buzzing around him. He picked up an electric fly swatter and started targeting it - but a gas canister was leaking in his Dordogne home. A reaction between the device and the gas caused an explosion, destroying the kitchen and partly damaging the roof of the home in Parcoul-Chenaud village.
I checked to see if Chuck had ever decided that people destroying their homes while trying to kill insects was a 'No Longer Weird' type of story, and yes, he had! In his Sept 18, 2016 column, he listed the following story under the 'no longer weird' heading:
Police in Centralia, Washington, arrested a man (not identified in news reports) for reckless burning in August when, trying to rid his apartment of roaches, he declined ordinary aerosol bug spray in favor of making a homemade flamethrower (the aerosol spray fired up by a lighter). He fled the apartment when he realized he might have taken things too far. (Firefighters were called, but the damage was minimal.) [The Oregonian, 8-8-2016]
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https://i.imgur.com/FggddWX.jpg
Posted by Phideaux on 09/09/20 at 05:06 PM
And yet, the battle against the fly buzzes on ...
Posted by KDP on 09/09/20 at 09:38 PM
Not specific to insect elimination but similar. Many years ago I responded to a reported structure fire inside a local restaurant. The damage was limited to smoke damage and a burn pattern in the wood shavings on the floor. The fire originated beneath a display case. The manager showed up and I asked him if he had any idea of the cause. Yes, he said, I started a very small fire to smoke out some vermin. I put it out before I left for the night. He did not do a very good job of putting out the small smoke fire. I just could not resist...told him that was the dumbest way to get rid of mice I had seen. Thought I might hear from the chief about my comment but never heard a word....Just goes to show you Can't fix stupid!
Posted by Steve E. on 09/10/20 at 11:27 AM
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Category: Insects and Spiders