February 17, 2004

Big Bang
Fireworks are hardly all fun and games. Almost four years ago in the town of Enschede in the Netherlands, a fireworks depot caught fire and blew up. Twenty two people were killed, hundreds were injured and an entire residential district was razed to the ground. Here's a survivor's testimonial and a collection of mind-boggling videos of the disaster (look under MOVIES/Explosions to the left). with a tip o' the fork to snarkymalarkey
  • Also in that movie selection, check out the Ammonium Perchlorate Factory explosion. "Whoa, that one's gonna be LOUD!"
  • Holy cow. What's most striking is how the explosions rapidly got out of control. [Detailed information on the Enschede explosion]. In the end, the two owners got six months in prison (suspended), and the real scapegoat turned out to be poor safety and zoning standards. A passing nod to the granddaddy of all explosions: the Halifax harbor tragedy of 1917.
  • Grandpaw? Wha? Huh? When?