Category:
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:

The first reported case of a pacemaker explosion during cremation was in 1976. The body of a 70-year-old man was cremated at 800 °C. After 5 minutes, four explosions occurred in rapid succession with a final explosion a few minutes later. In the wall of the cremator was a finger-sized hole half an inch deep. Among the cremated remains, there were five discs ‘resembling the ends of rifle cartridges’, a short length of wire and a metal plate. The device was identified as a zinc/mercuric oxide pacemaker. These pacemakers explode on cremation because of the rapid formation of hydrogen gas which bursts the pacemaker casing...

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

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

Page 1 of 4 pages  1 2 3 >  Last ›




weird universe thumbnail
Who We Are
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
Monthly Archives
October 2024 •  September 2024 •  August 2024 •  July 2024 •  June 2024 •  May 2024 •  April 2024 •  March 2024 •  February 2024 •  January 2024

December 2023 •  November 2023 •  October 2023 •  September 2023 •  August 2023 •  July 2023 •  June 2023 •  May 2023 •  April 2023 •  March 2023 •  February 2023 •  January 2023

December 2022 •  November 2022 •  October 2022 •  September 2022 •  August 2022 •  July 2022 •  June 2022 •  May 2022 •  April 2022 •  March 2022 •  February 2022 •  January 2022

December 2021 •  November 2021 •  October 2021 •  September 2021 •  August 2021 •  July 2021 •  June 2021 •  May 2021 •  April 2021 •  March 2021 •  February 2021 •  January 2021

December 2020 •  November 2020 •  October 2020 •  September 2020 •  August 2020 •  July 2020 •  June 2020 •  May 2020 •  April 2020 •  March 2020 •  February 2020 •  January 2020

December 2019 •  November 2019 •  October 2019 •  September 2019 •  August 2019 •  July 2019 •  June 2019 •  May 2019 •  April 2019 •  March 2019 •  February 2019 •  January 2019

December 2018 •  November 2018 •  October 2018 •  September 2018 •  August 2018 •  July 2018 •  June 2018 •  May 2018 •  April 2018 •  March 2018 •  February 2018 •  January 2018

December 2017 •  November 2017 •  October 2017 •  September 2017 •  August 2017 •  July 2017 •  June 2017 •  May 2017 •  April 2017 •  March 2017 •  February 2017 •  January 2017

December 2016 •  November 2016 •  October 2016 •  September 2016 •  August 2016 •  July 2016 •  June 2016 •  May 2016 •  April 2016 •  March 2016 •  February 2016 •  January 2016

December 2015 •  November 2015 •  October 2015 •  September 2015 •  August 2015 •  July 2015 •  June 2015 •  May 2015 •  April 2015 •  March 2015 •  February 2015 •  January 2015

December 2014 •  November 2014 •  October 2014 •  September 2014 •  August 2014 •  July 2014 •  June 2014 •  May 2014 •  April 2014 •  March 2014 •  February 2014 •  January 2014

December 2013 •  November 2013 •  October 2013 •  September 2013 •  August 2013 •  July 2013 •  June 2013 •  May 2013 •  April 2013 •  March 2013 •  February 2013 •  January 2013

December 2012 •  November 2012 •  October 2012 •  September 2012 •  August 2012 •  July 2012 •  June 2012 •  May 2012 •  April 2012 •  March 2012 •  February 2012 •  January 2012

December 2011 •  November 2011 •  October 2011 •  September 2011 •  August 2011 •  July 2011 •  June 2011 •  May 2011 •  April 2011 •  March 2011 •  February 2011 •  January 2011

December 2010 •  November 2010 •  October 2010 •  September 2010 •  August 2010 •  July 2010 •  June 2010 •  May 2010 •  April 2010 •  March 2010 •  February 2010 •  January 2010

December 2009 •  November 2009 •  October 2009 •  September 2009 •  August 2009 •  July 2009 •  June 2009 •  May 2009 •  April 2009 •  March 2009 •  February 2009 •  January 2009

December 2008 •  November 2008 •  October 2008 •  September 2008 •  August 2008 •  July 2008 •