Teenager dies from explosion of makeshift cannon in Wyoming: report

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Reuters

APRIL 6, 2018 / 10:11 PM / UPDATED AN HOUR AGO
Reuters Staff

(Reuters) - A 14-year-old boy in rural Wyoming who was building a small cannon using instructions from YouTube videos died after the contraption exploded, a local newspaper reported on Friday.

The cannon misfired late on Thursday as Archie Pearce was assembling its components, in an abandoned lot in the northern Wyoming community of Recluse, the Gillette News Record reported.

A 12-year-old child who was with Pearce was later treated at a hospital for minor flash burns. They were building the device as an experiment, with no intent to cause harm, Campbell County Sheriff Scott Matheny told the newspaper.

“They were in over their heads, trying to do something they shouldn’t have been doing,” Matheny added.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-wyoming-cannon/teenager-dies-from-explosion-of-makeshift-cannon-in-wyoming-report-idUSKCN1HE03Q?rpc=401&

[Binkie The Clown]

1. When I was in high school a class mate blew off two fingers with homemade explosives.

Plus numerous surgeries to remove the pieces of glass from the test tube he was holding that exploded.

[Major Nikon]

4. We used to make them when I was a kid

Gunpowder was pretty easy to come by. It's a small wonder none of us got hurt.

[7962]

7. Aint THAT the truth!!! I look back and cringe sometimes... nt

[Binkie The Clown]

13. He was actually making nitroglycerine. The guy was brilliant but had no common sense. nt

[Major Nikon]

14. You don't have to be brilliant to make it

The only tricky part is buying the chemicals at the concentration levels you need or concentrating them yourself. Other than that the recipe is pretty simple. If he had been actually brilliant he would have just made C4 as it can be made from much more common ingredients, it's far less dangerous to make, and you literally get more bang for the buck.

The fact that he managed to blow himself up suggests he either couldn't follow directions very well or was following the direction of another idiot.

[Binkie The Clown]

15. That was 1962 and with no Internet, I don't know where he got the instructions. nt

[Aristus]

2. For the love of God, Wyoming! Build a movie theater or something!

Does it mean anything to you that nobody wants to live there?

[JI7]

5. how about just spending time outdoors . they have nice scenery

are only liberals into that ?

[7962]

8. Wyoming is actually high on the scale of population growth rate, so folks ARE moving there.

[Aristus]

12. They're still 50 out of 50 in population.

I don't think California is going to lose the top spot any time soon.

[Initech]

3. Man remember the good old days when people used to just grow pot in their garage?

[JDC]

6. Why does YouTube have cannon instructions?

I thought they eliminated all homemade weapons videos.

[7962]

9. Yeah, there are a LOT of videos they need to toss. Stuff like this for sure. nt

[marble falls]

10. I do not know how I or any of my friends at that age are still alive or have all our fingers...

our eyesight or hearing. We made bombs, hand cannons, "special" effects. I watched my kids like a hawk. I probably need to watch my grandkids closer.

[Shipwack]

11. Im wondering if the video was intentionally flawed...

There’s a story that goes around that back when the “Anarchist Cookbook” came out and gained popularity, the FBI distributed a version where all the explosive recipes either created inert materials, or stuff that exploded prematurely...

Maybe someone is doing the same for YouTube?