druid Report post Posted January 25, 2011 As many of you might know, I work for the DOC/SRT and am in constant contact in the LE circles. This is primarily intended for US residents but I guess it could as easily apply to those outside our borders... I got this in an email today, put it through Snopes. They, along with LE determined it to be a real and continuing threat. It's kind of useless to redact out the ingredients, due to the investigative nature of people but the quantities of ingredients are not present in this article: http://www.snopes.com/crime/warnings/bottlebomb.asp The Email I received: Straight from Davidson County Sheriff�s office: Kids are putting Drano, tin foil, and a little water in soda bottles and Capping it up - leaving it on lawns. When you go to pick up the trash, And the bottle is shaken just a little - in about 30 seconds or less it Builds up a gas and explodes with enough force to remove some of your Extremities. The liquid that comes out is boiling hot as well. Don't pick up any plastic bottles that may be lying in your yards or in The gutter, etc. Pay attention to this. 1. A plastic bottle with a cap. 2. A little Drano. 3. A little water.. 4. A small piece of foil. 5. Disturb it by moving it; and BOOM!! No fingers left and other serious effects to your face, eyes, etc. People are finding these "bombs" in mailboxes and in their yards, just Waiting for you to pick it up intending to put it in the trash. But, you'll never make it!!! It takes about 30 seconds to blow after you move the thing. -------------------- DO NOT TOUCH RANDOM BOTTLES PLACED ANYWHERE YOU DIDN'T PUT THEM YOURSELVES. -------------------- It's really sad that kids are so bored they have to come up with this kind of crap. Guess baseball is out anymore... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TexasJack Report post Posted January 26, 2011 Yeah, yeah, yeah. This is not so new. I used to use this mix to fill balloons with hydrogen - 45 years ago. (I did temporarily lose some eyebrows lighting off the balloons.) There are several versions of this around, and most of them don't work very well. A couple of kids have tried it and so now there's a flood of internet warnings. I hate to have to cite Douglas Adams, but the best thing you can do is: "Don't Panic". BTW, you just proliferated the composition by publishing it on here. Way to go, Druid. I know it's hard to comprehend, but the internet is like a big sewer full of every kind of idea - good and bad - that gets tossed into it. Not everything you see on here is gospel. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
druid Report post Posted January 26, 2011 The way I read your post TJ, I find your callous attitude quite insulting. I guess since these devices are so "mundane"...I guess you wouldn't mind creating one and put up a video of you holding it in your bare hands as it detonates? Just "funnin' around" with buddies in an empty field [FAR AWAY from other people/stuff] is one thing. What I posted here is completely different... These kids are putting these devices around and making them in such a way that they are not detonating them for poops and giggles at the "boom"...they are intending to hurt people by having the VICTIMS 'move' the bottles, causing the chemical reaction and the detonation. That's malicious intent. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Historybuff Report post Posted January 26, 2011 I am 60 years old and have spent over half my life living outside the contential US. My dad was career military and so was I, and so was my wife's dad. We have lived with this type of terrorism all our lives. Its one thing to visit a foregn country for a few days or weeks, quite another to actually live on the econemy for 2-4 years in that foreign country. and be targeted just because your an American. I'm reasonably certain that if I find some kid dropping one these things on my lawn, the local police will have to take his statement standing beside his hospital bed, either that or the emergency room doc will have to be VERY carefull removing the thing from a body orifice. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wildrose Report post Posted January 27, 2011 Just because something's not new, or has been going on for years, doesn't make it right. Druid's warning was justified. I for one wouldn't think twice about picking up a piece of trash (i.e. a bottle) to throw out if there was a trash can near by. Now I will think on it alot more! It's sad that there are people out there that think pulling this sort of stunt is amusing in some way. My son is always picking up stuff, talking about keeping the planet clean and not littering. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JRodz Report post Posted January 27, 2011 I don't think this kind of prank is very funny, and in my hometown neither do the police. http://www.vcstar.com/news/2010/nov/05/teen-student-arrested-for-high-school-explosions/ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
simran Report post Posted February 12, 2011 (edited) My boys been messing around with all kinds of things that blow up for a long time. When they first said, "Dad come look at this"! I knew we had to have a good heart to heart about such carrying on. Now boys will be boys and my boys are no exception to this rule. I've been raising kids for over 25 years (6) and if they are willing to come to me and introduce me to something wild & crazy I'm gonna listen. However, once I figured out what was going on I called for a time out. We had a little discussion about how something like this should be done. Safety glasses, gloves and what not; now they gear up and mess with their experiments. I'd rather have them doing it right and at home than on the sly somewhere without the proper gear. It is actually kinda fun to watch them progress with the various projects they incorporate into it. They've now built a set up whereby they project all manner of vegetables out into the nearby field with an apparatus they built in the barn out of pipe. It all comes down to "you might be a redneck IF" maybe I don't know. But these are good boys. They are at home using their imaginations, not setting in front of the TV and they're lean & mean. These boys are not in the category of "what are we gonna do; our kids are over weight because they sit in front of the TV & play games all day crowd." They are developing their minds & bodies like we did when we were kids. If we had the directions to this available to us, many of us would have been doing it as well, as young people. Some of what it boils down to is there are to many young people running around not being parented. Mine don't fall into this category. Many do though and it is sad. Doing something like what was shared in this post is in the least unfortunate, and at most, deadly. It is sad that their are so many out there with no one to direct their activities. Sim Edited February 12, 2011 by simran Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kate Report post Posted February 14, 2011 What Sim said! in spades.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TexasJack Report post Posted February 15, 2011 Just because something's not new, or has been going on for years, doesn't make it right. Druid's warning was justified. No, Druid's warning is NOT justified. Druid is spreading a rumor about something that is NOT a dangerous plague of terrorism. That inflates the fear and is more likely to cause people to TRY to mimic something like this for the attention. That sort of thing COULD get someone hurt - most likely the kid making it. Druid doesn't understand the chemistry of what was going on. I do. Druid is not reporting "facts", but reporting what a media outlet reported as fact. (The first time you are quoted by the media is the last time you will believe everything you see reported by them.) The MSM hypes reports to drive up ratings, not to keep you safe. This is also NOT a forum for reporting or discussing public safety. Leatherworking safety, yes. "Bomb" making, no. If it was, I could cite many, many other serious dangers to the public that go on everyday and, in fact, hurt far more than this My "callous attitude" comes from an understanding of real dangers, which BTW I deal with on a daily basis. Let me also add that Druid's wish that I blow off my hands with such a device was wrong in every possible way and completely unjustified. THAT is "malicious intent". Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wildrose Report post Posted February 15, 2011 "This is also NOT a forum for reporting or discussing public safety. Leatherworking safety, yes. "Bomb" making, no." While it certainly isn't a forum for bomb making, this part of the forum IS for talking about things other than leatherworking. Hence the title "all about us and off topic". Take a deep breath everyone, okay? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
druid Report post Posted February 15, 2011 (edited) I think TJ is under the misconception that I'm against these devices for fun...or under careful supervision. I am not. I'm reporting that kids are placing them as boobytraps...that they are INTENDED to hurt other people...and therefore, to be careful when policing your properties for trash. You seem to forget that while yes, I cited a "media outlet" for pictorial purposes, I also referred to LE concerns because incidents of this type are on the rise. Perhaps not in your area - yet - but they are. As to the "chemistry" of the devices...yes, they are being currently constructed in a way so as not to detonate until moved by the intended victims. Remember...when you and I did these as kids [myself, over 25 years ago] chemicals weren't as "clean/pure/potent" as they are today...and frankly...the average kid who made these weren't as intelligent/antisocial/sociopathic as kids are today. TJ. Take a breath man...relax. While I don't like the idea of "Secede from the Union"....I AM all for handgunning, hunting, CCW and all those other things "Texans" love to flaunt....but this particular topic does have a place in the world too. Edited February 15, 2011 by druid Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TexasJack Report post Posted February 17, 2011 (edited) I think TJ is under the misconception that I'm against these devices for fun...or under careful supervision. I don't think I'm under any misconception. A few kids screwing around with chemistry that's been around for many years does not constitute a terroristic plague. Spreading these sorts of things around is far more dangerous. Remember...when you and I did these as kids [myself, over 25 years ago] chemicals weren't as "clean/pure/potent" as they are today...and frankly...the average kid who made these weren't as intelligent/antisocial/sociopathic as kids are today. No. (BTW, I work in a chemical plant.) The chemicals used are exactly the same as they were 100 years ago. As for "intelligent/antisocial/sociopathic", I really doubt that. I knew a third grader (when I was in 1st grade) that stole blasting caps and dynamite. Kids today just have faster ways of spreading information (and angst). . ..While I don't like the idea of "Secede from the Union".... We consider it more like disconnecting the lifeboat from the Titanic before it sinks. I AM all for handgunning, hunting, CCW and all those other things "Texans" love to flaunt.... We don't "flaunt". (Well, maybe in some parts of Austin, but that's another topic.) We thank God every day for allowing us to live in Texas. Edited February 17, 2011 by TexasJack Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wildrose Report post Posted February 17, 2011 Enough's enough, I'm locking this before it gets out of hand more than it already is. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
