Occupy Maine shaken by bomb blast

I've just looked at 92. And you are so full of it. Sorry rlm, you'll just have to carry on without me.

 

I do not rent cars. You guys are guilty. Turn yourself in to the TSA for appropriate searching.

 

Yes, they feel the politicans are owned and the only difference between the average, and I mean average, Tea bagger and this wall street movement is age. With one being more older and the other younger. Have not followed the story that is Moens thread but I would not be surprised if the thrower was just an idiot with no real agendas other then being an idiot.

 

I drive a green minivan. Yes, a minivan, so no one can blame this thing on me. I rented a coupe once, when the van was in the shop and I had to take two dogs to a show. (The less said about that, the better!) I felt as if I had a target on my back driving along I-10 . . .

 

Just to be clear, and since I'm probably the only one here who carries an explosives permit, this type of chemical bomb is far more dangerous than you think. The shock wave itself is lethal within a certain distance, add chemicals and shrapnel and you have a serious injury radius of about 10 to 15 feet (under certain circumstances). Potential injuries radiate out to 100 yards or more. If that bomb had landed between someone's legs and was up against a foot that person may have lost the ability to walk, or worse.

 

I don't think anyone disputes it is dangerous (nor that it should be punished). Lots of things thrown into an area with a lot of people have the potential to be dangerous. A rock thrown into a group of people from a moving car would also have the ability to seriously injure or maim someone, possibly even kill someone.

But these types of things would have to happen just right to have a chance of being particularly lethal. And neither are going to cause a mass casualty incident unless, as a couple of us have mentioned, it was filled with shrapnel, etc which, from all appearances, this was not.

Now, from a scare the hell out of people and disrupt their actions, it could be highly effective and could be considered terrorism depending upon the intent and the perpetrator(s) - both of which are still unknown, AFAIK. The Iraqis used to lob mortars at the base multiple times a day, every day, but these acts were not particularly lethal or dangerous because the odds of them actually killing or injuring someone was very low. In fact, it was much more lethal to them because of the immediate retaliatory actions. But, from a standpoint of making people apprehensive and disrupting operations, it was highly effective as a military or terrorist device.

 

Way out of line I realise IQ but do you hold that permit for copper mining or thirty point bucks?

 

Nor know what he is talking about for explosives. With the stuff I used to work with you talked about how many square miles would go away.

 

I was in the room once when my brother mixed baking soda and vinegar and shook it up. Does that count?

 

Assuming it was in a plastic bottle and not glass, that is pretty much what happened in Maine.

 

How many people were involved in those miles?

 

It depended on which direction it went. Could have been several hundred.

 

I guess that depends on what he shook it up in HM.

My post to IQ was because I know the area in which he lives. What people do there and somewhat of a joke (30 point buck).

Now, as I have posted before what we have here is an unfortunate incident bascially. Luckily nobody was really hurt. We don't know who did it but it could have been serious. The perps need to be caught and punished.

I am not familiar with this "chemical bomb" but it seems it exploded. Near people at that.
I'm not going to declare this as "terrorism" nor will I blame anyone's "beliefs" for it.

What I will do is state that it could have been dangerous if not fatal.

Let's all think about this okay? Let's say it was just a Gatorade bottle with no extras but the potential to explode. Even without shrapnel how fast could a piece of plastic fly? Could it put out an eye (that's fun until someone puts an eye out!), sever a major artery? Lead to death by bleeding? Probably.

We live in starnge times don't we?

 

Please explain. When, where, how and why?

 

First off, the "chemical bomb" was tin foil in Drano inside a Gator aid bottle.

In my case, we had several. Maybe the most likely was a 2000 gallon vessel with super heated flammable liquids under pressure. That could take roughly the back of out building (4+ acres). Although very unlikely, the 20,000 gallon LPG tank could BLEVE. That would probably take the whole building (6+ acres) and then some. However, the worst scenario would be a tank leak on a calm day and the vapor would travel. That could make up to 30,00,000 cubic feet of explosive vapor. The area involved would depend on how it spread. FWIW, there is on record such a vapor cloud traveling 35 miles before it exploded. Is that enough explanation?

 

I'm not at liberty to say, or at least it wouldn't be prudent.

 

I don't care about the explosives, but I sure am curious as to where you find 30-point bucks. That would make a lot of dog food!

 

You are all correct, and I'm not disagreeing... only trying to make it clear this was more dangerous than you'd think at first glance.

Stu said (essentially) that it depends on proximity. An example of that would be a fire-cracker: If it went off in the palm of your hand you'd be feeling some pain for a few days, but rarely much more than that. If you had clenched you hand into a fist around it though, well... you'll stand a decent chance of using the nickname "stubby" afterwards.

The likelyhood that this act would result in any injuries was very, very small, but the potential of serious injuries (even death) was still present. As Stu mentioned, it's a one in a million chance of serious injury. The thing would have had to have landed next to someone, who consequently rolled on top of it (or otherwise confined the explosion) to have had serious injury. Landing next to a face would also fall under that catagory.

IMO, it was done by some foolish kids who were less concerned about accidental injuries from their little bomb than the thrill and excitement generated by the act. The use of more dangerous chemicals than baking soda, vinegar, and hydrogen peroxide means a corresponding increase in the probability of injury, though still remote.

 

My opinion is that it probably falls under either 'incredibly stupid prank' or 'monumentally inept terrorism'.

 

Thanks for the explanation rlm. I hope I didn't offend you with my question as I was just curious. If I did my apologies.

Your explanation is downright scary and something a lot of people don't think about.

There are oil refineries in my neck of the woods. Anyone ever seen one burn? I have. One is managable as are two but if it gets to three. NOT good.

One blew up in Whiting, IN in the 1950s. I'll always remember my dad telling me how it shook the house about 10 miles away. He looked out the window and saw a mushroom cloud and thought the Russians had dropped the big one. We're talking Cold War here.