Dumber than Dumb

WIthin walking distance of the Reagan Library is one of the older Simi Valley nieghborhoods called Sinaloa. It even had a small artificial lake. My best friend Jarret lived there and we both came from Navy families. So, we built a submarine. It was two cheap plastic rowboats fiberglass taped together, a small glass bubble con from an early sunlight on a more or less seaable hatch and cinderblock ballast on release lines. For 'safety' We had a long surplused length of marine manila line. If the 'sub' failed to surface we would tie the line to Jarret's brother's truck (being restored) and drag it out. So, I climbed in for the maiden voyage. Everything went well. It wasn't Jules Verne, but we imagined raids on his sister's swim parties and launching stealth bottle rocket attacks on the nieghborhood bullie's beer parties. It worked.Problem was even with the ballast released my weight kept it submerged. I sat there, to afraid to pop the hatch and risk the bends @ 18 ' of recycled sewer water.Jarret panicked and connected me to the truck. His brother had pulled the engine. Plan B. Jarret threw the hauser over the garbage truck's rear bumper. It pulled out. Within a few minutes the USS Neversink flew out of the lake and was skidding down the road behind the truck at a safe and sane 10 MPH. A patrol car of our newly established Simi Community Safety Agency ( derisively called ' The Blazer Boys') was cruising the street as I opened the hatch and abandoned ship. I rolled into cover, said refuge from the law being a dense hedgeroll of pyracantha bushes. <img src="/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />The USS Neversink was destroyed by the patrol car hitting it swinging out behind the truck on a bend in the road.The remains were siezed as evidense of secret drug cache's in the lake. At least thats what the officer came up with for publicity. Happily, the lake today is filled in, Jarret joined the Air Force and I joined the Coast Guard.

COOL! <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Pete

Chris, you're quite the raconteur. You must be a welcome guest around any campfire. Thanks for the story!

Very amusing. And you weren't even drinking. Or were you? <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

-- Craig

Very good story !

Let's see if mine qualifies for this thread ....

When I was much younger (around 15 years old), I was quite interested in chemistry. And my uncle (only 7 years older...more of a big brother...) was studying to become chemistry professor.
On a beautiful day, during summer holidays, we decided to make a few cc of nitroglycerine, just for the fun of it ..
don't ask me the formula, I don't remember. I guess you can find it in any chemistry book.
I just remember it involded some warm acid.
We were well into the fabrication process, right where things were beginning to be ...critical, slowly pouring some product (glycerine ?) into the warm acid (or maybe the opposite .. ? <img src="/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> ), when a huge BOUM !! happend ... somewhere not far away.. but not us hopefully...
The acid's temperature or something else was wrong and we did not succeed to make a single drop of nitroglycerine.
And we didn't try again : maybe that explosion in the area imparted some wisdom to our thoughtless brains...
<img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

at least you didnt jump suddenly and spill acid all over yourselves

Frenchy:

At least you were not "acididiotic" about it as others might have been. <img src="/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />

Bountyhunter <img src="/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

heh
Your supposed to prevent the acid from getting warm - in fact, you start with COLD acids (plural - takes two kinds - and no, I won't give the formula - I have an OLD encyclopedia that has the instructions!!) - the reaction makes the Nitro unstable, particularly until it's washed, so you have to keep it cold (ICE) until the reactions are done, and it's washed - and yes I do mean washed - the 2 acids plus the glycerine end up making nitro, which is heaver than water - thing is, there is usually some excess acid floating around (of one type or the other), and it is LIGHTER than the nitro - and you want to wash it away, as it is what tends to make nitro "unstable"

Back when I was a kid (and I'm NOT old), I knew an elderly gent who had been a blaster, and he used to laugh at the movies where people had to ship nitro. Nitro was almost NEVER shipped according to him - easy enough to make if you had the raw materials, so you would ship THOSE, and any blaster knew how to make the nitro. My great-grandfather (who I never met) was in the business - my father had stories of skipping out of school - go to the dynamite shack, get some of the "sweat" (nitro ) and rub it on your forehead - get a fever - get kept home.....

This would make a great "after school movie" on TV.

well, I don't remember the exact process... <img src="/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />
I seemed to remember we had to keep the acids at a certain temp, preventing it to raise above a certain point, but also checking it did not go below a minimum temp...
anyway that's a long time ago ...
and it didn't work... hopefully ? <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Chris;

Thank you so much for your timely reminder that sometimes teenagers do dumb things, and we shouldn't be judging those two kids as harshly as we did; we should be thankful they survived.

I remember when I was a teenager, my brother and I mixed up a big batch of black powder in a 2 gallon plastic ice cream container, then spent the afternoon putting spoonfuls of it on my dad's workbench and setting fire to it. We started small, then the piles got progressively bigger and bigger. With the last one, a huge shower of sparks went up and we watched, paralysed, as one huge glowing ember came down heading directly for the open container, still full of about a gallon of BP. It fizzled out, still about 6 to 8 inches in the air, and we just stood there without moving for what seemed like an eternity. Then I suggested that we not do that any more and my brother agreed. with alacrity <img src="/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

Of course, now that I'm old and grey(ing) I tend to forget the dumb things I did when I was a kid. (Don't we all?)

Again, thanks for the reminder. After all, the worst mistake anyone can make in survival is to say "it can't happen to me". Regardless of the reasons for believing it.

I used to make "dynamite" with old toilet paper rolls, shotgun shell powder and fuses from firecrackers (the long ones). Never had any near-death experiences though. I did however set the yard on fire once while playing with matches too close to an open can of gasoline. Dropped a match that I "thought" was extinguished on to the ground too close to the open container and apparently there was a nice trail of spilled fuel because the grass ignited in a nice little line that led straight up and into the gasoline can. So with spout of can flaming like an oil lamp I thought to myself "it's gonna blow!" so I kicked it over to "release pessure" and of course spilled flaming gasoline all over the yard. I then ran inside and told my mom, the fire dept came and the rest is, well, history. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Dynamite, gazoline flaming ....

Hey !! you could have been a little Red Ader !!!!!
I guess you missed your calling ... <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

When I was about 16 or so, I decided to become an architect. At 26, I was one. At 46, I'm still one. Pretty much falls within the subject of this thread.... <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

well... I'm not so sure.
We all made some mistakes and learned from them and no longer do them.
It looks like you did not learn from yours as you are still doing it ! <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />