Exploding Chewing Gum Blows Off College Student's Jaw

FOX News ^ | 12/09/2009 | FOX News

[SIDENET]

I blame Global Warming.

[SubMareener]

Yes! It was amazing how little of it sprinkled on the floor made a most effective intruder detector. If they soaked a stick of gum with it, it is no wonder it blew his jaw off.

[PA Engineer]

Ours was a certain professor at a “prestigious” engineering school in Pittsburgh. He was a jerk and would always slam his office door. Snicker.

[reagan_fanatic]

I blame George Bush.

[BerryDingle]

Nitrogen triiodide, Oh yeah, we nicknamed that stuff “The Mother-in-Law”!

[Right Wing Assault]

Nitrogen Trioxide

Oops. Triiodide.

[DannyTN]

That’s hard to swallow.

I wonder if he died instantly or if he was Wrigley?

[DannyTN]

"It's the old exploding chewing gum trick."

[The Duke]

Or produce and ankle high purple fog bank if you sprinkle it down a hall while it is wet and someone walks on it after it dries? Yes.

Some things never change. I think half my freshman dorm was painted in that stuff the first year. The Chem-E's particularly liked putting it in keyholes.

Good thing we never thought of the chewing gum bit, though!

(Personally, I was low tech and was satisfied saran-wrapping toilet bowls.)

[Manic_Episode]

I hate when people snap their gum...

[RJS1950]

I synthesized nitrogen triiodide when I was in high school. Mix ammonia and iodine crystals and then sublimate the compound crystals. Dark purplish crystals that when thrown to the ground will explode with a popping sound like pop-cap fireworks. Neat stuff in small amounts. Why he would put this stuff on his gum and how he would do it is beyond me. It’s the crystals that are unstable, not a solution of the compound. Small amounts of crystals would not have a large and directed explosive effect. Maybe with picric acid but not this stuff. I heard he was dipping his gum in citric acid but that shouldn’t be explosive.

[DannyTN]

Maybe it was the bubble.

[Freddd]

Imagine circulating that through several elementary schools....

[Dead Corpse]

Red Mercury?

[RJS1950]

Could be, anything is possible (snicker).

[Yardstick]

What caused the explosion?

[Jabba the Nutt]

I searched the Mythbuster website and couldn’t find the episode. It had something to do with the differing layers in the jawbreaker with the center liquifying and creating explosive pressure from the heat by microwaving.

[Yardstick]

Okay, that sounds somewhat plausible.

[magslinger]

I learned that in high school.

[The Duke]

I learned that in high school.

I think I had to stay home and wash my dinosaur the day they taught that in HS, so I had to wait for college. :)