FARK.com: (6997179) If your first instinct is to bring that live grenade you found to police headquarters, you might be a Floridian

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		If your first instinct is to bring that live grenade you found to police headquarters, you might be a Floridian (mysuncoast.com)		55
		More: Florida, Bomb Squad, grenades, Sarasota

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4680 clicks; posted to Main » on 15 Mar 2012 at 11:40 PM | Favorite | share:

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Mugato		2012-03-15 09:18:50 PM

I don't know, what are you supposed to do with it? As a Floridian, turning it into the cops is kind of disappointing. If something isn't blown the fark up it doesn't deserve the Florida tag.

DAR		2012-03-15 09:55:07 PM

not me, I'd have got behind the wood pile, pulled the pin, and thrown it to see if it was live or not........but that's just me......k/dar

Somacandra		2012-03-15 10:56:41 PM

Mugato: I don't know, what are you supposed to do with it?

Perhaps calling 911?

MaudlinMutantMollusk		2012-03-15 11:39:37 PM

DAR: not me, I'd have got behind the wood pile, pulled the pin, and thrown it to see if it was live or not........but that's just me......k/dar

This^

/why let the cops have all the fun?

rev. dave		2012-03-15 11:42:18 PM

And the police respond by overreacting and locking shiat down. No common sense and lots of expense.

enricofermi		2012-03-15 11:46:33 PM

If it was Boston he'd have been shot on site

AverageAmericanGuy		2012-03-15 11:46:41 PM

Hey! What's this?

Indubitably		2012-03-15 11:49:40 PM

This is what, like twenty grenades old?

;)

BalugaJoe		2012-03-15 11:49:55 PM

what is his Fark handle?

TuteTibiImperes		2012-03-15 11:50:10 PM

Considering his course of action didn't start with 'Hey, hold my beer and watch this' I'd say he did a pretty good job.

Bathia_Mapes		2012-03-15 11:50:27 PM

Googling man brings grenade to police station (new window) clearly shows this isn't confined to Florida. There are stories of this happening in Texas, Maine, Canada, etc. And that's just the first page of search results.

Somacandra		2012-03-15 11:50:52 PM

rev. dave: And the police respond by overreacting and locking shiat down. No common sense and lots of expense.

I think they did the right thing. When all you know is 'dude has a live grenade' and is coming into the police station, its hard to call evacuating and locking down an overreaction. Its based on the knowledge you have at the time, not hindsight. Thing could have gone off at any time, Someone could have dropped it, etc...

rev. dave		2012-03-15 11:53:05 PM

Somacandra: rev. dave: And the police respond by overreacting and locking shiat down. No common sense and lots of expense.

I think they did the right thing. When all you know is 'dude has a live grenade' and is coming into the police station, its hard to call evacuating and locking down an overreaction. Its based on the knowledge you have at the time, not hindsight. Thing could have gone off at any time, Someone could have dropped it, etc...

Yes, still overreacting. Have him walk around back with it and put it in the bomb container. Easy enough. Are grenades like dynamite and cannot be moved? I thought they were used by soldiers at some point of time.

Enemabag Jones		2012-03-15 11:57:31 PM

Bathia_Mapes,Googling man brings grenade to police station (new window) clearly shows this isn't confined to Florida. There are stories of this happening in Texas, Maine, Canada, etc. And that's just the first page of search results.

Assuming you find the thing in a purchased box or furniture, you know you can probably transport the thing. Do you want a million cops in your home having to say they have to blow it up there when you think you can move it.

/Something that has not moved recently and is clearly WWI or WWII, I would be really afraid of that.

threadjackistan		2012-03-15 11:58:01 PM

rev. dave: Somacandra: rev. dave: And the police respond by overreacting and locking shiat down. No common sense and lots of expense.

I think they did the right thing. When all you know is 'dude has a live grenade' and is coming into the police station, its hard to call evacuating and locking down an overreaction. Its based on the knowledge you have at the time, not hindsight. Thing could have gone off at any time, Someone could have dropped it, etc...

Yes, still overreacting. Have him walk around back with it and put it in the bomb container. Easy enough. Are grenades like dynamite and cannot be moved? I thought they were used by soldiers at some point of time.

Explosives will often destabilize with age and/or improper storage.

Intoxoman		2012-03-16 12:00:51 AM

I'd have kept it, might come in handy some day.

7wolf		2012-03-16 12:01:32 AM

When they say "live" do they mean it was a functional-looking hand grenade, or do they mean the pin had been pulled and it hadn't gone off?

If the first one, I'd take it out into the woods somewhere and blow it up. If the second, loooooooooool that guy is an idiot.

davidphogan		2012-03-16 12:02:45 AM

It seems like, if he's outside with it, why not just play it safe and leave it where it is, evacuate the surrounding buildings, and pay the bomb squad to do their job?

It sounds like the cops handled this pretty well.

UsikFark		2012-03-16 12:10:54 AM

Intoxoman: I'd have kept it, might come in handy some day.

It might blow in handy someday.

Diogenes The Cynic		2012-03-16 12:11:11 AM

rev. dave: Somacandra: rev. dave: And the police respond by overreacting and locking shiat down. No common sense and lots of expense.

I think they did the right thing. When all you know is 'dude has a live grenade' and is coming into the police station, its hard to call evacuating and locking down an overreaction. Its based on the knowledge you have at the time, not hindsight. Thing could have gone off at any time, Someone could have dropped it, etc...

Yes, still overreacting. Have him walk around back with it and put it in the bomb container. Easy enough. Are grenades like dynamite and cannot be moved? I thought they were used by soldiers at some point of time.

I don't think police stations have bomb containers, like they're trashcans.

Britney Spear's Speculum		2012-03-16 12:15:52 AM

I remember there was an article where one of the florida PD's had one of those amnesty days. I believe someone brought a SAM.

Loren		2012-03-16 12:18:15 AM

rev. dave: Yes, still overreacting. Have him walk around back with it and put it in the bomb container. Easy enough. Are grenades like dynamite and cannot be moved? I thought they were used by soldiers at some point of time.

It's a matter of time. A fresh stick of dynamite is fine, it will take reasonable handling without a problem. The problem comes when it's been sitting around for ages. Dynamite is nitroglycerin that's been absorbed by some filler medium, let it sit long enough and the nitro will ooze back out. I believe it's even more unstable than pure nitro at that point.

I don't believe the explosives in grenades are subject to this problem but grenades are built to explode when a spring is released. That spring is held in place--but the metal doing so is on the outside of the grenade, the spring is inside. I think you can imagine what corrosion could do over the decades?

cbcs		2012-03-16 12:19:20 AM

Intoxoman: I'd have kept it, might come in handy some day.

Yep. I was thinking the same thing.

ZeroPly		2012-03-16 12:20:16 AM

Sweet Jesus, civilians, there's this thing called the "spoon". See if the "spoon" is still in place. If it is, then you probably don't need to spend $100,000 on "safely detonating" it.

/no cops, you are not soldiers
//I am a soldier. I used to use M67 frags as paperweights back in the day
///now I just write Python scripts and wonder what happened to my life

OBBN		2012-03-16 12:21:41 AM

Loren: rev. dave: Yes, still overreacting. Have him walk around back with it and put it in the bomb container. Easy enough. Are grenades like dynamite and cannot be moved? I thought they were used by soldiers at some point of time.

It's a matter of time. A fresh stick of dynamite is fine, it will take reasonable handling without a problem. The problem comes when it's been sitting around for ages. Dynamite is nitroglycerin that's been absorbed by some filler medium, let it sit long enough and the nitro will ooze back out. I believe it's even more unstable than pure nitro at that point.

I don't believe the explosives in grenades are subject to this problem but grenades are built to explode when a spring is released. That spring is held in place--but the metal doing so is on the outside of the grenade, the spring is inside. I think you can imagine what corrosion could do over the decades?

THIS if he was able to handle it and drive to the police station without it exploding it wasn't going to explode, unless someone pulled the pin and let the spoon go. I can't think (and possibly someone can prove me wrong) there has been a case of a grenade spontaneously exploding by itself. Just doesn't happen.

louiedog		2012-03-16 12:23:19 AM

Britney Spear's Speculum: I remember there was an article where one of the florida PD's had one of those amnesty days. I believe someone brought a SAM.

What happens if you get pulled over on your way to the police station to surrender your SAM on an amnesty day and the cop sees the thing in the back of your station wagon?

devildog123		2012-03-16 12:25:44 AM

Huh, so, if a live grenade is discovered, you should clear several blocks, and gingerly take it away with a robot? Good tip. I carried several on my person for months.

What do you want to bet the PD charged this guy for the disposal of the grenade?

OBBN		2012-03-16 12:27:45 AM

devildog123: Huh, so, if a live grenade is discovered, you should clear several blocks, and gingerly take it away with a robot? Good tip. I carried several on my person for months.

What do you want to bet the PD charged this guy for the disposal of the grenade?

Just out of curiosity, how many of those you carried spontaneously exploded?

moothemagiccow		2012-03-16 12:28:58 AM

A bomb squad was called out and used a robot to move the grenade across the street to Payne Park, where it was then blown up.

This is ridiculous. When will we invent a robot that can throw?

StinkyFiddlewinks		2012-03-16 12:33:07 AM

Well, yeah, if it was an M67, but the article doesn't say that.

If it were a pineapple I'd walk away slowly and call the cops. Hell, I might have kept the 67.

/Jarhead
//Now writing php scripts since my 2000-era JAVA days are over, and wonder what happened to my income

Enemabag Jones		2012-03-16 12:33:32 AM

devildog123,Huh, so, if a live grenade is discovered, you should clear several blocks, and gingerly take it away with a robot? Good tip. I carried several on my person for months.
What do you want to bet the PD charged this guy for the disposal of the grenade?

What if you found a 'pineapple' with WWII military gear, or a German stick version? Would that change the situation?

/Is there a 'best used by' date?

UsikFark		2012-03-16 12:39:14 AM

Enemabag Jones: /Is there a 'best used by' date?

foodquality.wfp.org

shake me.

Diogenes The Cynic		2012-03-16 12:43:33 AM

Enemabag Jones: devildog123,Huh, so, if a live grenade is discovered, you should clear several blocks, and gingerly take it away with a robot? Good tip. I carried several on my person for months.
What do you want to bet the PD charged this guy for the disposal of the grenade?

What if you found a 'pineapple' with WWII military gear, or a German stick version? Would that change the situation?

/Is there a 'best used by' date?

They're found all the time by Belgian farmers. Its called the "Iron Harvest"

Those guys just stick them on fence posts at the edges of their property.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_harvest

babtras		2012-03-16 12:49:19 AM

Idiot. You're supposed to throw it from a distance.

the.squid		2012-03-16 01:09:50 AM

moothemagiccow: A bomb squad was called out and used a robot to move the grenade across the street to Payne Park, where it was then blown up.

This is ridiculous. When will we invent a robot that can throw?

There were a bunch of articles recently about the Navy doing just that. Link (new window)

gibbon1		2012-03-16 01:13:18 AM

Enemabag Jones: /Something that has not moved recently and is clearly WWI or WWII, I would be really afraid of that.

I think farmers in Europe are still getting assploded when their plow hits stuff from WWI. Though an army brat friend of mine said when he was a kid, some other army brat he knew found a dud motor shell, tried to open it up with a chisel and claw hammer. That failed. Went to take it over to another friends house to show him and as he was walking down the street stopped to talk with a bunch of friends hanging out on a driveway. Showed it to them, accidentally dropped it and it went off.

erewhon		2012-03-16 01:24:46 AM

ZeroPly: Sweet Jesus, civilians, there's this thing called the "spoon". See if the "spoon" is still in place. If it is, then you probably ~~don't need to spend $100,000 on "safely detonating" it.~~ need to take it out to the quarry and "render it safe" the fun way, as a public service.

/anyone needing to get rid of scary det cord, I'm out, I'd be happy to get rid of it for you

Enemabag Jones		2012-03-16 01:25:10 AM

gibbon1,Enemabag Jones: /Something that has not moved recently and is clearly WWI or WWII, I would be really afraid of that.
I think farmers in Europe are still getting assploded when their plow hits stuff from WWI. Though an army brat friend of mine said when he was a kid, some other army brat he knew found a dud motor shell, tried to open it up with a chisel and claw hammer. That failed. Went to take it over to another friends house to show him and as he was walking down the street stopped to talk with a bunch of friends hanging out on a driveway. Showed it to them, accidentally dropped it and it went off.

I find it interesting that a hammer strike on a probably nearly 100 year old mortar shell did not effect it, but it still worked as intended when given a second chance.

/Suprised foward sensing metal detectors are not attached to some europe farming implements.

erewhon		2012-03-16 01:26:43 AM

louiedog:
What happens if you get pulled over on your way to the police station to surrender your SAM on an amnesty day and the cop sees the thing in the back of your station wagon?

You get this manic smile on your face, and yell to the cop "Run, dude, you might make it!" whilst brandishing the weapon in a threatening manner.

Enemabag Jones		2012-03-16 01:33:52 AM

louiedog: What happens if you get pulled over on your way to the police station to surrender your SAM on an amnesty day and the cop sees the thing in the back of your station wagon?

Smile, look towards the policman's crotch, and say 'I like your gun'

Cytokine Storm		2012-03-16 01:37:27 AM

wildcardjack		2012-03-16 01:40:32 AM

threadjackistan: Explosives will often destabilize with age and/or improper storage.

And that's why you call the bomb squad out when you find suspicious elderly munitions.

I think this guy meant well, but most times that someone finds an elderly grenade they have the sense to call in the find rather than carry it to the police.

Seriously, folks.
If you don't know where
that grenade has been,
just call it in.

/Burma-shave

Philbb		2012-03-16 01:48:31 AM

OBBN: devildog123: Huh, so, if a live grenade is discovered, you should clear several blocks, and gingerly take it away with a robot? Good tip. I carried several on my person for months.

What do you want to bet the PD charged this guy for the disposal of the grenade?

Just out of curiosity, how many of those you carried spontaneously exploded?

Just reiterating a point already made. The article makes no mention of the grenade's vintage. Heck they don't even indicate what kind of grenade it was. So we have no idea if this thing has been exposed to the elements for years or even decades.

But I can tell you from personal experience that a grenade of any sort that has been exposed to the elements for a month or so and stored improperly for a year or two can become unstable. I don't know that they can become unstable enough to explode without releasing the spoon but, I wouldn't pull the pin while holding it.

Although I might rig up a string to pull the pin from a safe position i.e. behind a brick wall 15+ meters away.

gibbon1		2012-03-16 01:55:28 AM

Enemabag Jones: I find it interesting that a hammer strike on a probably nearly 100 year old mortar shell did not effect it, but it still worked as intended when given a second chance.

My friend was an army brat, in the 60's. Kid likely swiped it from somewhere on base.

Dadoody		2012-03-16 01:55:51 AM

Autistic_Monkey		2012-03-16 05:13:11 AM

Talking about Iron Harvest:

Link (new window)

Gordon Bennett		2012-03-16 05:57:24 AM

Mugato: I don't know, what are you supposed to do with it? As a Floridian, turning it into the cops is kind of disappointing. If something isn't blown the fark up it doesn't deserve the Florida tag.

A) You don't touch it. Leave it right where it is, then

B) Call the police. Ideally use the non-emergency number. They will despatch a bomb squad to your location to dispose of it safely.

way south		2012-03-16 06:32:02 AM

Enemabag Jones: gibbon1,Enemabag Jones: /Something that has not moved recently and is clearly WWI or WWII, I would be really afraid of that.
I think farmers in Europe are still getting assploded when their plow hits stuff from WWI. Though an army brat friend of mine said when he was a kid, some other army brat he knew found a dud motor shell, tried to open it up with a chisel and claw hammer. That failed. Went to take it over to another friends house to show him and as he was walking down the street stopped to talk with a bunch of friends hanging out on a driveway. Showed it to them, accidentally dropped it and it went off.

I find it interesting that a hammer strike on a probably nearly 100 year old mortar shell did not effect it, but it still worked as intended when given a second chance.

/Suprised foward sensing metal detectors are not attached to some europe farming implements.

Might depend on how he hit it.
Pure speculation but: Some shells have a screw in detonator. He could have been trying to undo that... and in the process, undid whatever safety mechanism was in place to keep these things from going off at random.

Shakespeare's Monkey		2012-03-16 08:39:49 AM

Random Guy		2012-03-16 09:21:10 AM

Several varieties of grenades. How do we know this was not a simple smoke grenade? That would be about par for Florida. Blowing up a harmless smoke grenade lol

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