Hunting With Gas

Popular Science ^ | April 1963 | Tear Gas Devices

[Steely Tom]

This might have been an April fools gag.

[faithhopecharity]

no, this (or just onion juice) may have been where Obama’s fake tears came from so suddenly...

[rey]

I like the Claims Investigator ad on page 60 with the body lying in front of the car.

[Steely Tom]

I missed that! Hilarious!

[Utilizer]

I like this way much better: The Rodenator Pro -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIMfir6r1Rc

[rey]

WOW! When was the last time Popular Science put out a 240 page edition?

[Steely Tom]

WOW! When was the last time Popular Science put out a 240 page edition?

Interesting.

That's more than half the number of pages in The Last Whole Earth Catalog, #1160, published June 1971.

That edition of the LWHC cost $5, compared to $0.35 for the Popular Science of seven years prior.

Popular Science was printed in a smaller format, it must be admitted.

[ImJustAnotherOkie]

A.38 magnum?

[BenLurkin]

Good. Hate gophers.

[aomagrat]

38, 39, whatever it takes.

[tet68]

I could see a video of the rodinator being used in the city
to blow up sidewalk housing, Whoomph, and a wino comes scurrying out of his cardboard burrow, hair on fire, etc.
Then plugging him with your paint ball gun.
Put him in the bag tom.

[Rockpile]

I don’t use tear gas.

Onions and beans work for me.

[rey]

If you want lots of pages you could buy Vogue or Elle or even Cosmo.

[Steely Tom]

That was ghastly.

I’m guessing it was propane and oxygen blown under pressure into the hole.

Was it my imagination, or were some ballistic gophers actually visible in a few of those scenes?

[Utilizer]

I dunno, I kind of enjoyed it. Yes it was a propane and oxy mix that gets blown into the tunnel for a few minutes then shut off, and the Rodenator has a sparking mechanism at the end of the probe/sealer that ignites the mixture.

As for the ballistic gophers, I’m not certain. I’ll have to re-watch the vid later to see if I can make out a few.

Spectacular results, though. :)

[BlueDragon]

WOW! When was the last time Popular Science put out a 240 page edition?

If memory serves, PS long numbered their paqes by the entire year they were published, instead of according to what number of pages were in any one month's edition.

That would make beginning pages of later months have high page numbers from the first page of that month's edition.

[Steely Tom]

Geez, you know what? Here’s my next question: why didn’t the Army used the Rodenator in Viet Nam, instead of risking Tunnel Rats?

[BlueDragon]

Oh well, now that I went and looked, I realize I must have been wrong about the page numbering. It must have been some other magazine that did that. Lot's of pages in that magazine way back then. 35 cents.

In Texas, in 1963 35 cents could buy almost 3 gallons of gasoline, maybe more, depending on where in Texas a person was at.

[Bob]

In 1963, the quarter and dime that made up the 35 cents were silver — Take a beat up 1963 quarter and dime to any pawn shop and you’re going to get a lot more than 35 cents just for the melt value, possibly enough to buy 3 gallons of gas.

[BlueDragon]

Interesting.

Bring back the silver standard! (?)