Beating The Odds
Skipper, this also reflects on how poorly most people grasp statistics. How else do you explain the millions of people buying lottery tickets. I refer to the UK national lottery as a “moron tax” I think the odds of winning are 14million to one against!
Changing tack to the actual post, you are fortunate in Missouri to be able to purchase fireworks. A couple of years back I was in Iowa vistiting and I made a trip to Missouri to see an old friend. It cracked me up when I crossed the border at the vast numbers of roadside shops selling fireworks. Reminded me of my days in Iowa when we would trundle down to Missouri and buy M80’s etc. Happy days.
Have a good July 4th.
With all these dire warnings
Of pain, doom, and strife,
It’s hard to imagine
A fate worse than lifeI’ve kept this in mind just to waste it on BMEWS. Mad Magazine, circa 1972.
I miss the cherry bomb and M-80 days. Loft an M-80 with a slingshot so that it explodes about a hundred feet above ground, and the effect is spectacular.
I was hit by a stray firework about 9 years ago. It left a scar but really wasn’t serious.
In the Police State of ill-ANNOY fireworks-like everything else-are illegal.
That doesn’t stop people from going to Indiana-about 10 miles from me-,KEN., or MO. to pick some up.
They’ve been going off in my neighborhood for about the past week.
Personally I think that if ADULTS want fireworks they should be allowed to get them.
It’s not like the law has made a big difference.Posted by Annoying Little Twerp
07/03/2005 at 09:14 AM
Btw-I didn’t see shark attacks on that list.
Posted by Annoying Little Twerp
07/03/2005 at 09:15 AM
Shark Attacks - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 42,590,312 to 1
Shark Attacks if you’re a stupid tourist
from Illinois visiting Florida and you
swim out 100 yards from shore and splash
around a lot in the water - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1 to 1Now you know.
Barb being attacked by a shark:"But you can’t bite me-I’m your FRIEND!”
*note to self-visit Florida, wade out to hip deep water, make lots of noise, see fin, ooh-and aah, RUN LIKE HELL*
Posted by Annoying Little Twerp
07/03/2005 at 09:32 AM
Ohio has an interesting approach to fireworks: You can buy them here legally but you must sign a statement that you will be using them out of state as it’s illegal to discharge them in Ohio. I can’t explain the thinking involved.
Once it gets dark around this time of year the sky starts blooming with rockets. They must be coming in from Indiana or Michigan. Yeah, that’s it, long range bottle rockets.
Washington state has been overrun by SAFETY NAZIS and in Seattle fireworks are illegal. But of course there are thousands going off everywhere. When I was a kid EVERYBODY lit off fireworks and I don’t remember anyone ever getting hurt. Fortunatly (82% voted for Kerry!!!) I moved out of Seattle and now live next to an indian reservation that has hundreds of firework booths selling everthing you ever could want and starting last Friday night the neighborhood sounds like a war zone again. For fireworks this year I’m going to be igniting some Thermite using a magnesium ribbon and dropping some cubes of Sodium metal into some water. I’m also going to fire up a jet engine that I made out a turbocharger and make some serious noise and smoke. Have a great 4th everybody.
Posted by Paul "No Fear" Weir
07/03/2005 at 01:19 PM
Twerp-
Did your paper run the warning from the State Fire Marshall that everyone should just go to their locally sponsored display? Saying that 200 Illnoisans are injured every year?
I was just thinking to myself, only 200? In a state of 12 million?
I give up the fun of playing with explosives because of only 200 idiots?
I sure wish I got to pick which ones.
Posted by prairie biker
07/03/2005 at 05:14 PM
Fireworks can only be bought in certain areas of St. Louis County & St. Charles County............they are banned in a lot of municipalities except by professionals hired to make a display..........I must say my ER sees very few fireworks injuries, but then my hospital is not a trauma center, thank you.............Anyone injured by fireworks would be taken to one of our major trauma center hospitals..........One of my neighbors works in St. Charles County & bought a few to set off for his kids - nothing that would cause any major injury.............My son & I may go to downtown St. Louis on the 4th after I get off work to see the fireworks......I have been trying for years to photograph them & have not been very successfull........want to try again........
Posted by Dottie
07/03/2005 at 08:57 PM
OCM, I should have explained what these items do to become fireworks: We’ll I learned somewhere that sodium metal reacts VIGORUSLY with water and burns or explodes when immerssed because it produces hydrogen gas. I collect chemical elements and some of them do some pretty interesting things. The Thermite is a chemical compound that when ignited will melt through thick steel. It is used in war to seriously sabatoge heavy metal equipment,like guns and tanks etc, and for practical things like cutting railroad tracks etc. (I am not sure exactly what will happen as this will be the first time I have tried it) The jet engine I made myself after I studdied gas turbine engines of all types and I used a turbochrager from a Porsche 935, made my own conbustion chamber with an air swirler and bolted it on, then mounted it in a metal frame with things like oil pump, propane delivery system, sparkplug ignitors, 120vt power cord and start it with my shop vac on blow setting. The turbo goes up to about 150,000 rpm and sounds just like a jet engine, it blows fire and smoke and you can hear it a couple of blocks away. The thrust from the exhaust port will push the wheeled cart along. Many people are quite scared of it(hopefully my neighbors).
Posted by Paul "No Fear" Weir
07/03/2005 at 11:30 PM
Oh yeah, sodium will react quite VIGOROUSLY with water. Had a chem teacher who bore the scars of one of his demos that went wrong.
Magnesium can be entertaining too, in a pyromaniacal sort of way. I used to service some customers who machined the stuff. It was heavy cutting all the way. No finish cuts unless you wanted a spectacular fire. Carbonized sand was stationed nearby as an extinguishing material.
It was always interesting to go into a shop, see a freshly repainted machine and a patch in the roof. I did take some chips from time to time to play with at home. Brillianat entertainment that stuff.
07/03/2005 at 04:21 AM
