somewhat of an edited pea.
When younger I put some of my chemistry lesson knowledge to use with some friends and made up a powder for small rocket propellant. A basic gunpowder mix (sodium nitrate obtained from a laboratory supplier, sulphur from Boots and carbon from barbecue briquettes powdered in a coffee grinder, and addition of magnesium powder for bright sparks). Unfortunately the mix was too energetic and used to blow the lightweight bamboo tubes used for the rocket casing to pieces. Move to chrome shower rail hammered down at one end and it held together OK but didn't fly very well. Thinks- maybe if I drilled a hole in the crimped end I could ignite the fuel from there, then I'd have a sort of stage Pyro like you get at rock gigs. Nicely. Then inspiration struck.

Stage 3 was to attach a handle to the tube and insert a plastic capacitor as a 'bullet', so that the lit fuel would fire it at a target.

1st try, hiss..pause...PHUT! Bingo.
2nd try, hiss..pause...PHUT! All right!

3rd try however, hiss....pause.....FUCKING ENORMOUS BANG! Mega bright flash and I'm dazzled, can't see a thing...this persists for a few seconds during which I start to panic, thinking I've blinded myself.

The relief I felt when my sight returned was deeply moving and I legged it back home. Lucky, lucky bastard that I was, it could all so easily gone badly, permanently wrong.

This was 25 years ago, my sight is still good. Also fortunate because if I'd have been doing that kind of thing thesedays I'd be locked up under the prevention of terrorism act.
( Rotating Wobbly Hat That's not a banana. THIS is a banana., Mon 31 Dec 2012, 17:03, Reply)