I thought it seemed a little boring lately, so just trying to see what happens
with the type of people on this forum I know there's plenty of the above mentioned stories out there. I'll start off with a mild one
I liked playing with things that went bang years ago when I was younger and dumber (I still do I just don't have the time anymore) and one weekend evening almost went too far.......
where I grew up everyone takes active part in social going ons upon reaching the tender age of 16, which usually consists of getting together in groups ranging anywhere from 20 or so up to (in rare cases) 200+, usually every weekend games are played all afternoon followed by group singing in the evening. So you have a lot of people in one place, and most of them under 20
things were getting boring, it was cold so everyone that could be inside was inside, so the buildings were crowded, etc. I was in the farmer's work shop along with a couple dozen other folk waiting for our turn at the table tennis, when someone found a piece of thinwall 4" sewer pipe 2 foot long or so. Around here all farmers workshops are loaded with lots of fun things, gasoline, diesel fuel, metal junk, and in this case an oxy-propane torch.
The person with the pipe ( no it wasn't me) duct taped one end shut and tried putting a little gasoline in first. It didn't even pop, just made a little flame. Big disappointment. I had been watching and at that point suggested the propane torch, and then put a couple spurts propane in. The other guy was holding the lighter and so naturally was pronounced the elected detonator......
That didn't do much more than the gas did, I happened to think about pure oxygen and it's effects and recharged it again........with equal amounts of propane and oxygen this time......it worked then, you bet it worked......
I was feeling chicken by then and dropped the torch, but the other guy was loving it and decided to do one more grand blast, so he grabbed the torch and put a LOT of propane and oxygen in, a lot....
buddy #1 turned chicken too, and got another guy that should have known better (call him buddy #2) to touch it off, which consisted of touching a lighter flame to a hacksaw slot in the side of the pipe. For good measure buddy #1 stuffed a rag in one end of the pipe and put another layer of duct tape in the other end. buddy #2 couldn't find the slot with his lighter flame because he just turned his eyes away (naturally) so he picked the whole shebang up and jammed it under his arm, and touched it off.........
The fireball and force of the explosion blew the pipe to little pieces and knocked buddy #2 completely out, to this day he declares he was the only one in the room who missed the whole thing. He was very glad when his hearing returned the following week, and the fingers that were holding the pipe regained their feeling. I know I've never seen a roomful of people evacuate so fast just before the explosion, it would have done a fire drill proud!! The farmer's son still claims to this day that the egg production from the chickenhouse across the lane produced only half the yield the next day, he also told me the unfortunate farm dog was just outside the shop door at the time and never set foot inside the shop again.........
I have always been extra wary of propane since then, especially when mixed with things like oxygen.....
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