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Had to call the Bomb Squad to my house.

BurlyShirley

Rex Grossman Will Rise Again
Jul 4, 2002
19,180
17
TN
As some of you know, the wife and I purchased a house back in the summer. Practically the whole place has been gutted and is still in the process of being remodeled.

Well, a couple weeks ago I was taking out some old lumber that was stacked up on some bracing between the floor joists in the basement. I removed one board, and saw behind it, a cylindrical tube that looked like a big log of sausage. It was in a white wrapper, kind of unmarked like deer sausage comes in.
I had a weird feeling about it because it seemed as if it were purposely hidden behind the board. I guess my inner-police officer took over because I ended up getting up in there with a flashlight looking over the thing to see if I could see any writing on it, all bomb-technician style, making sure not to touch it in case it was "sweating" in the way TNT is rumored to do, I didnt want to set it off or anything.

Well, I couldnt see any writing on it, so I kind of convinced myself "Quit being such a pussy and take it down, it's probably just some nasty old deer sausage."

So I did, and sure as sh*t, the label on the under-side that I couldn't see read "HYDROMITE EXPLOSIVE AGENT" I nearly shat myself right there as it lay upon my work bench.

Ended up calling the cops and some local city cop, not any older than I am showed up, didn't know WTF it was and said "I think this is what most people call "Gun Powder""

I said, "Well, typically gun powder doesnt come in a tube as an emulsion from what I know, but you're the cop"

He ended up copying down all the info from the label and calling the highway patrol, because neither my city or county have a bomb squad (nice knowing that).

The Highway patrol bomb guys showed about an hour or so later and took the stuff out of there, said I did the right thing by calling, etc. They were pretty cool and decided to take the stuff down to the local quarry and detonate it. They didnt ask much about the circumstances in which I found it, but did manage to find out who owned the house before me, so Im not sure if they're trying to find out anything else or not. They really didnt seem to concerned.

The really scary part is that I have soldered copper with a torch not 5 feet from where the explosives were hidden. AND it was directly under where our bed is in the basement.

...buy a house from rednecks, and expect redneck sh*t.
 

binary visions

The voice of reason
Jun 13, 2002
22,092
1,132
NC
You had a tube of explosives and you couldn't find anything more interesting to do with it but turn it into the police? And you didn't even go watch it get blown up?

 

LordOpie

MOTHER HEN
Oct 17, 2002
21,022
3
Denver
wow, that's some crazy stuff!

Glad you called the cops. Not only for y'alls safety, but also to document that it ain't yours and you've no connection to any bombings, past or future :)

The opposite would've been post-worthy too... you didn't touch it, called, they came out and it was jimmydean sausage.
 

binary visions

The voice of reason
Jun 13, 2002
22,092
1,132
NC
The really scary part is that I have soldered copper with a torch not 5 feet from where the explosives were hidden. AND it was directly under where our bed is in the basement.
http://www.austinpowder.com/blastersguide/docs/msds/Hydromite, E4.PDF

SECTION VI REACTIVITY DATA Issued by the Safety and Compliance Dept.
Stability: Stable under normal conditions. May explode when subjected to fire or shock, especially when confined and in large quantities. Avoid temperatures above 212F, (100C).
:twitch:

Glad everything worked out safely, though...
 

BurlyShirley

Rex Grossman Will Rise Again
Jul 4, 2002
19,180
17
TN
That's pretty gnarly.


And is the kind of thing that only happens to you:rofl:
No fawking kidding. I told the cops, "You're lucky I didnt find that when I was 14, or who knows what would've gone down"

They said the stuff is commonly used to blast apart rock in quarries or roadways, and that if they cut open the tube and smear it on a board, it would simply burn really really intensely, but they decided just to blow it up cause its more fun.
 

jimmydean

The Official Meat of Ridemonkey
Sep 10, 2001
40,931
13,129
Portland, OR
Didn't you find a bottle of deer piss in the garage too? Or was that someone else who got an awesome freebie with the purchase of a home?
 

BurlyShirley

Rex Grossman Will Rise Again
Jul 4, 2002
19,180
17
TN
I didnt find the deer piss. Not sure who that was. I have found numerous old car batteries, tires, swing sets, cheap bicycles, trash of assorted varieties and a kiddy pool in the woods around the house.
 

4traxx

Chimp
Nov 2, 2007
10
0
Enfield , Ct
No fawking kidding. I told the cops, "You're lucky I didnt find that when I was 14, or who knows what would've gone down"

They said the stuff is commonly used to blast apart rock in quarries or roadways, and that if they cut open the tube and smear it on a board, it would simply burn really really intensely, but they decided just to blow it up cause its more fun.
thats exactly what it is . comes in differant sizes 2 inch up to 3 inch X 16 .
 

loco-gringo

Crusading Clamp Monkey
Sep 27, 2006
8,887
14
Deep in the heart of TEXAS
No fawking kidding. I told the cops, "You're lucky I didnt find that when I was 14, or who knows what would've gone down"

They said the stuff is commonly used to blast apart rock in quarries or roadways, and that if they cut open the tube and smear it on a board, it would simply burn really really intensely, but they decided just to blow it up cause its more fun.
Well, at least someone involved in this has a sack hangin'. :think:
 

loco-gringo

Crusading Clamp Monkey
Sep 27, 2006
8,887
14
Deep in the heart of TEXAS
Nah, I'm pretty sure he would have blown himself up.
Westy's right. I actually would have shot it with a .22 from a distance.

Don't say sh*t about how it's inside. That doesn't matter.


True story - in 6th grade I was home sick from school. I took a Ramset blank and laid it on my dad's recliner and shot it with a BB gun. It blew a hole in the cushion. I thought it was a fluke so I did it a second time. Turns out it wasn't a fluke. If you shoot a .22 blank with a BB gun, it will blow a hole in fabric. Your dad will kick your ass for it too.
 

MTBstud12

Monkey
Jan 24, 2008
484
0
Tejas
Westy's right. I actually would have shot it with a .22 from a distance.

Don't say sh*t about how it's inside. That doesn't matter.


True story - in 6th grade I was home sick from school. I took a Ramset blank and laid it on my dad's recliner and shot it with a BB gun. It blew a hole in the cushion. I thought it was a fluke so I did it a second time. Turns out it wasn't a fluke. If you shoot a .22 blank with a BB gun, it will blow a hole in fabric. Your dad will kick your ass for it too.
Thankfully you warned me before i ever tried that. A$$ whoopins from dad aren't a welcome site haha.
 

Spero

ass rainbow
Jul 12, 2005
2,072
0
Tejas
Westy's right. I actually would have shot it with a .22 from a distance.

Don't say sh*t about how it's inside. That doesn't matter.


True story - in 6th grade I was home sick from school. I took a Ramset blank and laid it on my dad's recliner and shot it with a BB gun. It blew a hole in the cushion. I thought it was a fluke so I did it a second time. Turns out it wasn't a fluke. If you shoot a .22 blank with a BB gun, it will blow a hole in fabric. Your dad will kick your ass for it too.
My dad used to reload our shotgun hulls when I was a kid. One day a friend and I found out where he kept all the primer caps and powder and we found some great uses for that stuff. I'm amazed I still have all of my fingertips.
 
I used to put .22 long rifle cartridges on the floor and whack them with a hammer just to hear the bang. I had enough sense to angle the hammer head away from me so the shrapnel was directed away from me. This is not to say that my continued survival is due to anything other than sustained dumb luck.
 

DirtyMike

Turbo Fluffer
Aug 8, 2005
14,437
1,017
My own world inside my head
That stuff you found is fun, under the right circumstances that is. Thats what they use to get giant boulders off the roadways and such, They drill the holes in the boulder, drop one of them "Packages" in multiple locations, and set them off alla t once, Its friggin awesome
 

S.K.C.

Turbo Monkey
Feb 28, 2005
4,096
25
Pa. / North Jersey
That is INSANE.

But how the fu@k does someone "forget" were they stashed a couple pounds of HYDROMITE EXPLOSIVE AGENT?! ...especially since they stashed it IN THEIR OWN HOUSE...

Jesus...

...I get the feeling it's the same kind of people that leave their guns loaded in a night-stand where the kids can find it. There's a special place in hell for people like this...

Glad to hear you are still in one piece.
 

BurlyShirley

Rex Grossman Will Rise Again
Jul 4, 2002
19,180
17
TN
That is INSANE.

But how the fu@k does someone "forget" were they stashed a couple pounds of HYDROMITE EXPLOSIVE AGENT?! ...especially since they stashed it IN THEIR OWN HOUSE...

Jesus...

...I get the feeling it's the same kind of people that leave their guns loaded in a night-stand where the kids can find it. There's a special place in hell for people like this...

Glad to hear you are still in one piece.
Agree that it is insane. Thing is, this house was repossessed by the bank, so the previous owners were simply evicted (probably had a subprime mortgage) and Im not sure they were tasked with removing their own stuff, or if some company was hired to come in and move everything out...so who knows? Maybe the guy forgot, maybe he said ah **** it, it's hidden good enough, who knows? Why would he have it in the first place though?
 

kingbee

Monkey
Mar 29, 2004
902
0
Ohio
My dad used to reload our shotgun hulls when I was a kid. One day a friend and I found out where he kept all the primer caps and powder and we found some great uses for that stuff. I'm amazed I still have all of my fingertips.
I used to help my dad reload shotgun shells. One day I decided I would take a primer and smash it with a hammer...just to see what would happen. I mean, its so tiny, whats the worst that could happen?

So I lay it on the ground in the garage and whack it once, nothing happened. I smash it again and BOOOM! My ears rang for a couple days. (Didn't help I did it in an enclosed area) That was the day I found out that its not the powder in the shell thats loud, its the primer.
 

Wumpus

makes avatars better
Dec 25, 2003
8,161
153
Six Shooter Junction
I used to help my dad reload shotgun shells. One day I decided I would take a primer and smash it with a hammer...just to see what would happen. I mean, its so tiny, whats the worst that could happen?

So I lay it on the ground in the garage and whack it once, nothing happened. I smash it again and BOOOM! My ears rang for a couple days. (Didn't help I did it in an enclosed area) That was the day I found out that its not the powder in the shell thats loud, its the primer.
The worst we ever did was take the shot and powder out of a shell and tape a marble to the bottom. Throw in air and BOOM!*


*I didn't throw it far enough the first time(riding bike threw at ground) and the shell bounced back into my shin. Ouch.
 

syadasti

i heart mac
Apr 15, 2002
12,690
290
VT
Here is the worst I've done as a kid...

Big Bang Cannon accident. Igniter got stuck in cannon. Flipped it over and water and calcium carbide spilled on my leg. When you combine the two it's an exothermic reaction that generates acetylene gas so it gave me a bad second degree burn. My neighbors though it would keep burning (it wouldn't) so they pushed me in to their pool (was using the cannon right next to their pool). Photo about a week after it happened:

 

Spero

ass rainbow
Jul 12, 2005
2,072
0
Tejas
Here is the worst I've done as a kid...

Big Bang Cannon accident. Igniter got stuck in cannon. Flipped it over and water and calcium carbide spilled on my leg. When you combine the two it's an exothermic reaction that generates acetylene gas so it gave me a bad second degree burn. My neighbors though it would keep burning (it wouldn't) so they pushed me in to their pool (was using the cannon right next to their pool). Photo about a week after it happened:

Awesome! I still have one of those. I think my grandfather gave it to my dad as a gift when he was a kid and I used to use it a lot when I was younger. I never burnt myself with it though.