MISC ANARCHY! PART 2 - Tennis ball cannons ------ Information from the Usenet. The Usenet is a worldwide network of 15,000 machines and over 500,000 people- And growing! Addendum by The Editor: If you aren't in the Chicago area, check a local BBS list. If you see a BBS which runs under UNIX, odds are it carries usenet. The appropriate place to look is rec.pyrotechnics. At this time (twelve years ago) most soft drink cans were rolled tin rather than the molded aluminum. We would cut the tops and bottoms off of a bunch of them and tape them together with duct tape, forming a tube of two feet or more. At the end we would tape a can with the bottom intact, more holes punched (with a can opener) around the top, and a small hole in the side at the base. We then fastened this contraption to a tripod so we could aim it reliably. Any object that came somewhat close to filling the tube was then placed therein. In the shop, we used the clock as a target and an empty plastic solder spool as ammunition, with tape over the ends of the center hole and sometimes filled with washers for weight. When taken to parties or picnics, we would use whatever was handy. Hot dog rolls or napkins filled with potato chips provided spectacular entertainment. Once loaded, a small amount of lighter fluid was poured into the hole in the side of the end can and allowed to vaporize for a few moments. The "fire control technician" would announce "Fire in the Hole" and ignite it. BOOM! Whoosh! The clock never worked after that! ---------- Our version of the potato chip cannon, originally designed around the Pringles potato chip can, was built similarly. Ours used coke cans, six with the top and bottom removed, and the seventh had Bottle opener holes all around one end, the top of this can was covered with a grid or piece of wire screening to keep the tennis ball from falling all the way to the bottom. This was spiral wrapped with at least two rolls of duct tape. A wooden shoulder rest and forward hand grip was taped to the tube. For ignition we used lantern batteries to a model-t coil, actuated by a push button on the hand grip. A fresh wilson tennis ball was stuffed all the way back to the grid, and a drop or two of lighter fluid was dropped in one of two holes in the end. The ignition wire was poked through the other hole. We would then lie in ambush, waiting for somthing to move. When fired with the proper air/fuel mixture, a satisfying thoomp! At maximum range the ball would travel about 100 yards with a 45 degree launch angle. Closer up the ball would leave a welt on an warring opponent. When launched at a moving car the thud as it hit the door would generally rattle anyone inside. Luckily we never completed the one that shot golf balls. PART 4 More Fun Stuff for Terrorists Carbide Bomb This is EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. Exercise extreme caution.... Obtain some calcium carbide. This is the stuff that is used in carbide lamps and can be found at nearly any hardware store. Take a few pieces of this stuff (it looks like gravel) and put it in a glass jar with some water. Put a lid on tightly. The carbide will react with the water to produce acetylene carbonate which is similar to the gas used in cutting torches. Eventually the glass with explode from internal pressure. If you leave a burning rag nearby, you will get a nice fireball! Auto Exhaust Flame Thrower For this one, all you need is a car, a sparkplug, ignition wire and a switch. Install the spark plug into the last four or five inches of the tailpipeby drilling a hole that the plug can screw into easily. Attach the wire (this is regular insulated wire) to one side of the switch and to the spark plug. The other side of the switch is attached to the positive terminal on the battery. With the car running, simply hit the switch and watch the flames fly!!! Again be careful that no one is behind you! I have seen some of these flames go 20 feet!!! PART 5- This is all various files I gleaned from BBS's. (Added 8-23-90) Balloons are fun to play with in chem lab, fill them with the gas that you get out of the taps on the lab desks, then tie up the balloon tight, and drop it out the window to the burnouts below, you know, the ones that are always smoking, they love to pop balloons with lit cigarette.... get the picture? Good... -= Exodus =-