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2008 January Slush
(UL)Roping A Deer
(Hmmm)Tiger, not lion, kills 1, injurs 2
(DA)Pulled into the abyss
(?)Rich and Overconfident
(Hmm)White Spirit IS Flammable
(?)VA Man Shot to Death While Beating
(DA)Slippery When Wet
(?)Had big balls.
(DA)Chest Piercing Electrocution
(?)Un-happy slapper
(?)Need for Speed
(?)Great Balls of Fire!
(?)Jumbolair Airborne BMW
(DA)Not a Shred of Sense
Conveyor belt outlasts runner
Rafts, Rivers, Cement and Bridges
(HM)Home Made IED
(DA)Sneaking Across
Auger to Heaven
(?)Graffitists drown in storm drain
(NO)Disabled man turned himself into hu
(?)Let Me Get a Better Look!
MANS BEST FRIEND???
Fire up the BBQ !
Holy Flaming DOH!
gangsta guns & fireworks don't mix
Skier dies after triggering avalanc
The high cost of gas
Police: Man Shot Himself In Genital
Do-I-Yourself Shock Therapry
(DA)A series of Im-Pined Events
Picnic Lunch
Drunken driver saves beer
two for one
The Faster Method
Miami of Ohio University...
(several)
Man stabs self while fleeing
Woman attacked twice by shark
Is half a Darwin better then none?
highway worker nearly earns award
Reverse Mohawk
Grafitti Vandals Drown
dangerous mixture
Do Tell
Drowned pair 'spraypainting inside
Next Time Buy a Ticket!
Man Shot Himself In Genitals During
1 shoot closes slaying case
When Couch Potatoes Take Root.
Men shoot themselves in tattoo atte
Making Deadly Gas at Home
German man goes out with X-mas Tree
Kinky Sex, Shocking Death
vodka+viagra death
Explosive Military Intelligence
Death by Exploding toilet
Down the drain!
Pneumatic Nail Gun Surprize
Man Killed in Backyard Explosion
Un-happy slapper
Fake hanging becomes all too real
What was he doing up in that crane?
Semi-Conductor
That is one Fowl Shot
diver drowns for golf balls
Metal fence gets revenge
One sleeper too many on rail tracks
Burning Pants
Police Break in?
Go Get the Lawnmower
Who knew trucks were heavy?
dumest showoff driver ever
Killer Drill
Couldn't wait to get down and party
Truck-a-Luck
dangerous dog food
They Ain't no Bo and Luke Duke!
The Blue - Handed Pikeman
Driver found unbuckled in crash, bu
Man Shot Himself In Genitals During
He now hates that 'Tom Tom' GPS!!!
A Crocodile Poacher gets scrambled.
Bare hand versus table saw
Drunken Phone Repair
Knife thief stabs self during getaw
Belly dancing through traffic
Super Glue Eye Drops
Man held by ankles to snap photo
Eagle explosion
Cutting up a Napalm Bomb
Escalator Misused
Flash Powder near miss
Log Jamming
Driver requires GPS Train-ing
elevator surfer
Two men dead after swimming in drai
New year buffaloe ride
freek accident
Rest in Peas
Bike VS. Train
Slow Learner
Hangings should never be mocked up
Is Arthur still going to heaven?
Strong finger for firing a pistol
unsuccessful robber shoots self in
The Death of Deadtown
Don't want to fall out of this bed!
Abused car strikes back
Goat Overcomes Man
Dog Love
New years Nose Ring In Brain
Homosexual Couple Hospitalized
Listen to your parents!
Run over getting the bins in
Man breaks neck in pool accident
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Darwin Awards
2008 Slush Pile

This item was recently submitted by a reader.
Should I include it in the archive?
Vote to tell me what *you* think!

Flash Powder near miss

2008 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance

One windy day I had just mixed a quantity of flash powder and went outside to test it. I Had no idea how explosive it might be - whether it would simply burn or explode. I assumed it wouldn't be very energetic as all of my other attempts so far had been pretty tame, so I was leaning over it trying to shield the matches I was using to light it with from the brisk wind..

I didn't know it at the time but my Dad was sneaking up behind me to scare me in order to encourage me to be more careful.

Right when the powder ignited he grabbed me and by reflex action pulled me backwards when he saw the detonation - good thing too because the powder went WHOOSH making a column of white smoke 20 feet high which was carried through the trees by the wind.

An instant before this my face was directly over this 1.oz of flash powder. So I learned 2 things that day -

1.) homebrew pyrotechnics can be very dangerous and unpredictable 2.) further safety precautions were needed as I was very lucky to still have my face intact after that incident

from then on I tested mixtures only from a distance using electric fuses and treating all my mixtures with as much caution as the blasting caps I found in a trailer (which safety spots were running on TV about at the time warning of the dangers)

PS The flash powder was in an open container so I didn't think it could actually explode - but it did, up until that time I assumed a closed/sealed container was required to produce an explosion

7 parts sodium chlorate (this is hard to obtain in pure form these days but was easy to get when I was a kid) 2 parts magnesium powder/filings/shavings 1 part sulfur

Submitted on 01/08/2008

Submitted by: The Mad Scientist
Reference: personal account - early 70's

Copyright © 2008 DarwinAwards.com

Great? 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Awful?
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Chip said:
Definitely Keep: Personal Account
Ah yes, another tale of the homemade blasting powder! Glad you still have a face. Thanks for the story, Mad


Bruce said:
Definitely Keep: Personal Account
You sure are lucky your dad was there at such an opportune time. Thanks for a great story!


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