Bear wrote:
> In article , Larry Green says...
>> Bear wrote:
>
>>> I'm thinking back a few years ... someone discovered that molasses and
>>> treacle tins, if opened, then wrongly re-sealed, then left for a couple
>>> of years, could explode ... now I'm thinking about Snowy's kitchen
>>> antics ... and it doesn't look good :)
>
> Good grief!
>
> The things one learns on UseNet.
I would imagine that molasses must have rolled down the street like a wall of
cold lava! Talk about coming to a sticky end! I can't even imagine what 2.3
million gallons of molasses would look like (or smell like for that
matter....phewee!)
>
>> But I doubt Snowy's kitchen is large enough to hold that amount of molasses so
>> the resulting bang and subsequent death toll *should* be lower! ;-)
>>
>> However, just about anything that contains a lot of sugar, has the ability to
>> ferment and is contained in a closed vessel could possibly go BOOM at any time,
>> just think about homemade ginger beer! It is interesting to note that both
>> molasses and peanut butter have been used to make explosives in the past.
>
> Flour (and by implication wheat storage areas) is notorious for going
> boom when you don't want it to ... I clearly recall seeing the US news
> when I was on the farm in Ca., about 25 years ago, and seeing a report
> of a huge grain storage silo having gone up in the most spectacular way.
> While it looked entertaining, it killed a couple of folk, which rather
> took the shine off the amusing sight of a tidal wave of tens of
> thousands of tons of grain making its way down the road.
Yup, custard powder is notoriously dangerous too (probably due to the high flour
content) as is milk powder apparently.....
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2006/oct/22/schools.education
....click on the 'remarkable photographs' link to see what happens when you
sprinkle milk powder over an open flame!
--
Larry the Limey
