"Hold my beer and watch this" (The Darwin Thread)

[youbet]

Hehe, since we're all sharing...

Me and a couple buddies (say about age 15) made a pipe bomb out of some stuff one of us had around, a nipple, adapter, a plug and a cap. Drilled a hole for the fuse and filled the thing with about 1500 matchheads cut off the booklets with hedge trimmers. Was about a foot long and inch diameter.

We strapped the thing to a bike and brought a GI folding trench shovel on another bike and rode out to the empty field. Dug a hole about a foot and a half deep and buried the thing which had 2 feet of fuse attached.

The we lit it and waited. When the thing detonated the ground shook and dirt went 20 feet into the air, most impressive! We went to the hole and found the pipe shredded on one end where it let go from the pressure.

At least we were smart enough to bury the thing eh -

We used match-heads similarly.

We'd stuff a matchbox with match-heads, cover with many layers of tape, punch a hole with an ice pick, insert a fuse and light. Big pop and flaming match-heads filled the air for some distance! A nifty display at night!

Then we'd cut the ends off of used CO2 cartridges (from my Crossman air rifle), stuff with match heads as a propellant, place in a pipe and light. The cartridge would travel at least a couple hundred yards as a rocket.

Then take a foot long piece of half inch threaded pipe. Drill a hole through a pipe cap. Place a firecracker fuse through the hole and screw the cap on so the firecracker is inside with its fuse extending out through the hole. Drop a standard marble in the open end. Aim, light fuse, watch the marble explode through the neighbor's garage door like it was a piece of paper. Run! Your dad is gona 'splain this all to you very vigorously!

 

[Koolau]

Thanks for reminding me. We used to buy calcium carbide chunks that were used for miner's lamps. We'd put it on the ground, pour water over it and them stomp a tin can into the ground that had a small hole in it, over the calcium carbide. Light that hole and the can would fly 20 feet into the air.
One can buy toy cannons that use this same chemical.

My dad had an old miners lamp that was cleaned thoroughly before putting it away after his c*reer as a deep miner. We bought some calcium carbide for it and it worked like a charm. I think I still have it someplace in the attic. My amazement came when it dawned on me that using such a device was a sure fire way to ignite mine gas (methane.) Dad never endured an explosion, fortunately.

Thanks for reminding me of this childhood memory. I hadn't thought about it for a long time.

 

[38Chevy454]

Then take a foot long piece of half inch threaded pipe. Drill a hole through a pipe cap. Place a firecracker fuse through the hole and screw the cap on so the firecracker is inside with its fuse extending out through the hole. Drop a standard marble in the open end. Aim, light fuse, watch the marble explode through the neighbor's garage door like it was a piece of paper. Run! Your dad is gona 'splain this all to you very vigorously!

Yes, firecracker cannons were easy to make with some pipe for the barrel and a cap with a drilled hole for fuse to stick through.

 

[travelover]

Yes, firecracker cannons were easy to make with some pipe for the barrel and a cap with a drilled hole for fuse to stick through.

Thanks for reminding me......... We made a described cannon out of 1 1/2 inch pipe and strapped it to my neighbor's rototiller. We used it to shoot green apples into the next neighborhood. All was well until owner of said rototiller saw what was going and chased us off. I wonder if the folks in the next neighborhood figured out where the apples were coming from.

 

[freedomatlast]

We'd collect three Campbell's Soup cans that already had the tops removed. On two of the cans, we'd remove the bottom of the cans too. We'd attach the two cans without the bottoms together and then to the top of the can with the bottom, to make a mini cannon barrel. We'd stand the can assembly upright.
We'd punch a small hole near the bottom of the bottom can. Added some gasoline, lighter fluid and/or Naptha and match heads to the bottom of the bottom can. Next, inserted a new tennis ball (that happened to be a perfect light slip fit in the soup cans) and pushed a lit match through the hole in the bottom can. Tennis ball would shoot out at high velocity, some never to be seen again. Later we upgraded and used the ignition system from a small gasoline engine and a spark plug for ignition instead of a match. Good times!

 

[NW-Bound]

We'd collect three Campbell's Soup cans that already had the tops removed. On two of the cans, we'd remove the bottom of the cans too. We'd attach the two cans without the bottoms together and then to the top of the can with the bottom, to make a mini cannon barrel. We'd stand the can assembly upright.
We'd punch a small hole near the bottom of the bottom can. Added some gasoline, lighter fluid and/or Naptha and match heads to the bottom of the bottom can. Next, inserted a new tennis ball (that happened to be a perfect light slip fit in the soup cans) and pushed a lit match through the hole in the bottom can. Tennis ball would shoot out at high velocity, some never to be seen again. Later we upgraded and used the ignition system from a small gasoline engine and a spark plug for ignition instead of a match. Good times!

Kids all around the world are still making the same thing, except that they now universally use PVC pipes, except for big metal howitzers, and they shoot potatoes. Of course, the shards from an exploding PVC pipe can cause serious bodily harm.

In the video below, one old man made a "mother of all potato launchers" at 1:09.

At 1:15, one guy had his PVC launcher blowing up in his hands.

At 3:00, one guy used a clear tube, and captured in slow motion the spread of the flame through the tube.

At 6:40, a guy lost the launcher from his grip due to the recoil.

At 7:38, a howitzer.

Finally, a potato Gatling gun.

 

[isisdave]

OK, how many have been ended?

Well, Northern Ireland came immediately to mind. I think the FARC conflict in Columbia had major intervention by women.

The story of Lysistrata and her buddies helping to end the Peloponnesian war is probably mostly fiction, but I would not be surprised if there was some truth to this approach either in ancient Greece or later.

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/06/women-in-peace-negotiations-end-wars

On the other hand, the Medici women probably did start and end wars, or at least vendette, to suit their own interests.

I think more to the point, and harder to investigate, is how women throughout history might have helped avoid war.

 

[MC Rider]

.......
Finally, a potato Gatling gun.......

Almost as easy to understand as Guy Martin.


https://youtu.be/NiTEKBrDfX0

 

[Koolau]

One of my Jr. Hi friends brought back some M-80s following a family trip (through TN) to FL. We figured out we could launch an empty 5 gallon paint can by pitching an M-80 under said can which was then quickly shoved down into some loose earth - followed by us running.

Everything went well for several "launches" (maybe 100+ feet into the air) until the can came down on the neighbor's roof. Thankfully, they were not home - but we shut down operations immediately. The can ended up with a rounded closed end. It was all great fun in a Beavis and Butthead sort of way. YMMV

 

[Christine]

When I was 18 years old and on my way to my driving test a class mate flagged me down and said the infamous words - watch this!

It turned out he tried to impress me by igniting some hydrogen gas and oh boy did we hear it! One hour later sitting in the car taking my test I had problems hearing the instructor. But I managed to pass the test even if I took a wrong turn once since my ears still wasn't working properly.

Now more than 30 years later one of my ears still have a faint ringing sound that comes and goes.

 

[skyking1]

When Dad mustered out of the Marines after the war, he went to work for a construction company at Toketee Falls, and worked under the tutelage of a master blasting engineer. He learned the trade of "powder man", and for a few years that was his employment.
He brought the work home. We had an old wooden box magneto, and he made his own black powder for fun.
He also made some fuses that were quite fast. Fast was a problem that plagued our home adventures.
he made a crude cannon out of galvanized pipe and a cap with a hole for the fuse. The cartridge was the old daisy BB tubes packed with the powder and fused. He experimented with different length of tube till he got what we wanted.
He used hand-picked rocks for projectiles, and we shot them at the neighbor's unused barn. It had a tin roof that would yield a nice ping when we hit it.
Back to the "fast" problem. He really wanted a functional rocket, but had trouble cutting the powder in a ratio that would burn evenly and not just explode.
One day he thought he had it, and grabbed this new large terra cotta pot that mom had purchased for a planting, thinking he could put the bamboo stick in the hole in the pot.
The results were predictable. That pot was absolutely flat to the ground from the resulting detonation, and I remember him telling us boys to pick up that mess and get it in the trash while he went to the store to replace the pot before mom came home

 

[pacergal]

Goodness! After reading all of these, I am surprised all you made it to adulthood with 10 fingers and toes!

 

[corn18]

Goodness! After reading all of these, I am surprised all you made it to adulthood with 10 fingers and toes!

The stupidity continued when I was in the fleet flying F/A-18's. There weren't a lot of timid types flying fighters off the boat.

 

[freedomatlast]

Here's our home made cannon that shoots 1" diameter lead balls that easily penetrate through 12" oak stumps with the deepest loudest report that sets off house and car alarms in the surrounding area. Sometimes the police have no sense of humor.

 

[Chuckanut]

The stupidity continued when I was in the fleet flying F/A-18's. There weren't a lot of timid types flying fighters off the boat.

In my life, I've met two guys who flew fighters off an aircraft carrier and, more amazingly, landed them on a carrier. Both, were quiet, soft spoken men, the kind who could attend a party, spend a few hours there with friends, and after they left, many party goers never knew they were there. Great guys. Perhaps they were the exception to the rule.

OTOH, I knew a guy who designed jet engines for fighters. He would do the rounds at Air Force bases telling the pilots what to expect from the new engines. One time at the start of his talk, one guy interrupted him and said, "Sir, with all due respect there are only three thing we want to hear about: how to get more range, more thrust and more sex." Maybe those were the Top Gun dudes.

 

[corn18]

In my life, I've met two guys who flew fighters off an aircraft carrier and, more amazingly, landed them on a carrier. Both, were quiet, soft spoken men, the kind who could attend a party, spend a few hours there with friends, and after they left, many party goers never knew they were there. Great guys. Perhaps they were the exception to the rule.

OTOH, I knew a guy who designed jet engines for fighters. He would do the rounds at Air Force bases telling the pilots what to expect from the new engines. One time at the start of his talk, one guy interrupted him and said, "Sir, with all due respect there are only three thing we want to hear about: how to get more range, more thrust and more sex." Maybe those were the Top Gun dudes.

Never confuse quiet with timid.

 

[homestead]

Here's our home made cannon that shoots 1" lead balls that easily penetrate through 12" oak stumps with the deepest loudest report that sets off house and car alarms in the surrounding area. Sometimes the police have no sense of humor.

Did you remind them of your "right to bear arms"

 

[NW-Bound]

You can bear arms, but try to go to a grocery store with a grenade clipped to your belt and see what will happen.

 

[Koolau]

Never confuse quiet with timid.

Yep. I just visited the grave of an old friend who flew dozens of missions in VN. He was so quiet, he would just disappear into a group of folks. Get him one one one and he was a fascinating guy with loads of cool stories. He was a good husband and father and he was smart and had a great after-military career.

You can't tell a book by the cover. In quiet moments, Bud told me stories about the war that would curl your toes. I think the spectrum of folks who fly into harms way runs the full gamut of personalities. For every "Maverick" there are quite a few "Buds." YMMV

 

[aja8888]

Yep. I just visited the grave of an old friend who flew dozens of missions in VN. He was so quiet, he would just disappear into a group of folks. Get him one one one and he was a fascinating guy with loads of cool stories. He was a good husband and father and he was smart and had a great after-military career.

You can't tell a book by the cover. In quiet moments, Bud told me stories about the war that would curl your toes. I think the spectrum of folks who fly into harms way runs the full gamut of personalities. For every "Maverick" there are quite a few "Buds." YMMV

One of my close friends and golfing buddy was in Nam as a helicopter pilot and was shot down twice. He also took a couple of slugs in the rear end (shot through the seat from down below). Somehow each time he got out without being captured after the copter went down. Pretty tough duty for a 20 year old.

Then he got called up for Desert Storm and served again flying choppers. He was in his 40's then and lost his insurance business because he had to go. He was flying a gunship into pretty nasty places.

He doesn't talk much about those days. I don't talk much about mine either.

 

[skyking1]

My friend Tom was a Skyraider pilot in Korea, it's an immense single engine ground attack carrier plane.

He had a great story of dropping 250 pound bombs in close air support in the coldest of that worst winter. The ground was frozen hard and he was a bit low. Part of a bomb came up to visit him. He felt a hard "bump" in the control stick, and as he headed back to the carrier his fuel gauge was falling fast. He made it back and the next morning the crew chief gave him an earful about working all night to repair the damage.
That is when he pulls out this cigar box with a portion of the fuse casting with "US" legible, and a piece of the push-pull tube that controls the elevator on that beast of a plane. As massive as it was it did not have boosted controls.
The casting had a rivet head fused to it, and the piece of tubing showed the gouges and scrape as that chunk of iron slammed across it and stripped that rivet right off it at the heim joint.
After it hammered the control ( which was an instant "game over" if it had failed ) it penetrated through but not clear through the self-sealing main center tank, and kept the hole open to dump out the fuel.
He also offered this advice on strafing. Don't ever go back. One of his squadron mates did and somehow got back to the carrier but that plane was scrapped.
He went on to be the maintenance chief for the Air America program in Viet Nam.
He was a quiet sweet guy, and rebuilt bonanzas for a hobby at Renton.