Large explosion: Esparto explosion, not a myth

Friday, March 27, 2009

Large explosion: Esparto explosion, not a myth

Mythbusters accidentally shatter windows in small town

Posted by David Pescovitz, March 26, 2009 11:27 AM

Esparto, Calif. -- A big explosion, in the name of science, scared a lot of people in a small town.

Mythbusters went to Yolo County and ended up with a bigger bang than expected."It was a boom that was just -- I had never heard anything like that before, it was really weird," said Sherril Stephens.

The explosion was so big it shook the town of Esparto, knocking Stephens off her couch and breaking her front window.

Their aim was to "knock the socks off" a mannequin with an explosion of ammonium nitrate.

The boom blew out some residents' windows that Mythbusters replaced. One woman whose glass was shattered was delighted by the surprise. Others, not so much.

From KCRA.com: "Course all the neighbors ran out into the street. We didn't know what was going on," said Paul Williams, who heard the explosion...

Williams said the school and others in town should have been notified the blast was going to happen.

Chief Barry Burns, of Esparto Fire Department, had several firefighters on hand for the explosion. He said he made the decision not to notify anyone in town for safety sake.

"Mythbusters is supposed to be a really popular show. Everybody would have been out there. We would have had to cancel it because it would have been too dangerous," Burns said.

Info sources:
Boing Boing - Link
KCRA - Link

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AnonymousTuesday, April 07, 2009 11:30:00 AM
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Friday, March 27, 2009