tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post4552942031674877460..comments2024-03-28T18:32:43.699-05:00Comments on Bayou Renaissance Man: Doofus Of The Day #1,077Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10595089829300831372noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-9557219955668872652021-03-18T09:01:23.945-05:002021-03-18T09:01:23.945-05:00would taping a marble to the bottom of a shotgun s...would taping a marble to the bottom of a shotgun shell and tossing in the air count? We tired of emptying the shot and tried ducking behind a wall.good fun, but limited by imagining police response times to shots fired.brucehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06911036379896402069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-49074000159484790382021-03-17T19:55:13.514-05:002021-03-17T19:55:13.514-05:00A friend of mine heated railroad signal flares in ...A friend of mine heated railroad signal flares in hot water and skimmed off the nitroglycerine. Apparently, using it by the drop can be very amusing. He was a precocious lad, once putting a demilled Vickers machine gun back into service. (The police drove up as he was working to adjust the cyclic rate. They were not amused.)Shermhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07098953206824247173noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-51708594834642919562021-03-17T17:12:30.835-05:002021-03-17T17:12:30.835-05:00Ah, teenage years... after some of the stuff I did...Ah, teenage years... after some of the stuff I did (e.g., making red fuming nitric acid at home), I'm lucky I still have my lungs, not to mention all my fingers, eyes, etc.<br />But I've always been careful with regard to quantities and handling of energetic materials, and discovered electric ignition early on, which kept me at a reasonable distance from things that were <i>supposed</i> to be getting exciting.<br />A college classmate made a sample of an organic peroxide (HMTD, perhaps?) - a category I've always avoided - and had an unscheduled detonation owing to its extreme mechanical sensitivity; luckily, he wasn't injured.<br />And the stuff various high-school classmates did with match heads, well, I made a point of not being anywhere in the vicinity, but somehow they all survived.<br />It's part of Being A Boy, and guidance and supervision would seem to be called for. Alas, the inquisitive and science-minded are more likely to be branded terrorists and/or heretics than to be offered constructive criticism nowadays.Eric Wilnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04351991168469225129noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-47038888978359813542021-03-17T16:24:20.681-05:002021-03-17T16:24:20.681-05:00A kid I grew up with had a father that reloaded hi...A kid I grew up with had a father that reloaded his own ammo.<br />After what we did with the gunpowder, lucky I have all my bits in the right place.Matthew Whttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15779512563348051103noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-59361457905484106872021-03-17T16:23:01.027-05:002021-03-17T16:23:01.027-05:00At 16, the kid was old enough to know better.
I m...At 16, the kid was old enough to know better.<br /><br />I may have burned my eyebrows off a few times, but I was careful to keep all pieces of my person firmly attached.<br />Treat splodey things with respect.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12822511906907583597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-35140481306741348952021-03-17T15:03:00.328-05:002021-03-17T15:03:00.328-05:00Made some nitroglycerin as a teenager (in an ice b...Made some nitroglycerin as a teenager (in an ice bath), set it off in a farm field. Loved NI3, and made butyl mercaptan stink bombs. Such fun!tweellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13095316476018974556noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-6634014446633539252021-03-17T14:13:44.525-05:002021-03-17T14:13:44.525-05:00My high school had a well-stocked chemistry lab, a...My high school had a well-stocked chemistry lab, and a teacher who gave extra credit for "Special Projects".<br /><br />He also trusted us, a mistake when one is dealing with HS Sophomores.<br /><br />Familiar with Mercury Fulminate, or Nitrogen Tri-Iodide?scamoramahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13861982672296020634noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-54377679203805539522021-03-17T12:00:03.498-05:002021-03-17T12:00:03.498-05:00Hmmm.... The things my brothers and I got away wi...Hmmm.... The things my brothers and I got away with would shock young people today. Wouldn't shock the old-timers here, because y'all have done much the same stuff, like making your own black powder, making stump-busting bombs, playing with and 'enhancing' fireworks, disassembling caps to get the powder out for use in bomb-making and enhancing other fireworks, disassembling 'dud' fireworks in order to get the 'magic' out...<br /><br />But we all knew about safety because our fathers taught us it. <br /><br />Gun safety? When I was 5, my dad taught me the basics of gun safety, which was if I touched his or anyone else's real guns without permission, I would never be able to sit for the rest of my short life. Now go play with my toy guns.<br /><br />Yes. This is possibly the direct result of schools being dumbed down and/or bad parenting. Or... well... There was always that one kid who'd do something stupid and take it too far. <br /><br />We can't educate or eradicate stupidity and lack of common sense. Stupid should hurt, and common sense needs to be learned.<br /><br />Stoves, when on, are hot. Fire burns. Alcohol in large quantities is bad. Being punched hurts. Etc. If you don't teach or allow the child to learn basic pain response, what do you expect to happen?Beanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15293778848879361153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-24613132658888520812021-03-17T11:07:15.333-05:002021-03-17T11:07:15.333-05:00Ironically, 2 were killed this morning in an explo...Ironically, 2 were killed this morning in an explosion of 'industrial fireworks' in a house in Orange County, CA. And yes, the father apparently never taught the boy about not doing stupid things. Old NFOhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16404197287935017147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-77295122078488546082021-03-17T11:05:11.561-05:002021-03-17T11:05:11.561-05:00Not to put to fine a point on it, but chemistry se...Not to put to fine a point on it, but chemistry sets from my youth had the necessary chemicals. Not to mention the rocketry clubs in high school where you made your own fuel.<br /><br />The difference is that in those days parents and teachers tried to help kids learn dangerous things safely. Of course, then as now some kids already knew everything.<br /><br />Which may be this kid. Or it may be that he couldn't stand the modern cuddles society that's smothering him.Samhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17805361716666159604noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-21042117751420185002021-03-17T10:25:46.405-05:002021-03-17T10:25:46.405-05:00Let him keep his thumbs but treat him to an amputa...Let him keep his thumbs but treat him to an amputation that will ensure he breeds no more doofa. <br />.stencilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10301529692425359238noreply@blogger.com