# Did we forget the 1 ton of Explosives undernearth the hotel since WW2? Dang! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 11, 2005, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-forget-the-1-ton-of-explosives-undernearth-the-hotel-since-ww2-dang/311999 "2005-07-11T15:17:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-forget-the-1-ton-of-explosives-undernearth-the-hotel-since-ww2-dang/311999/1 "2005-07-11T15:17:44Z")
It’s funny how the little things, like a 1 ton charge of explosives placed under a Moscow hotel to destroy it, in the event of Hitler rolling into town, can just slip your mind for 60 years. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4672185.stm](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4672185.stm) BTW–this hotel is smoke-free. Or else. ---
**Author:** ![Nic2004](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/4491bb/32.png) [@Nic2004](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nic2004)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-forget-the-1-ton-of-explosives-undernearth-the-hotel-since-ww2-dang/311999/2 "2005-07-11T15:30:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Experts say there were no detonators and the explosives had decomposed so there was no danger of an explosion. Don’t I recall something about old dynamite being _highly_ sensitive, like nitro? Oh, and that reminds me, must go check the basement. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Electronic\_Chaos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Electronic\_Chaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electronic_Chaos)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-forget-the-1-ton-of-explosives-undernearth-the-hotel-since-ww2-dang/311999/3 "2005-07-11T15:32:14Z")
> [@Nicodemus2004](#): > > Don’t I recall something about old dynamite being _highly_ sensitive, like nitro? > Oh, and that reminds me, must go check the basement. :eek: I remember the same thing…but the only source I have is an old McGuyver episode. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-forget-the-1-ton-of-explosives-undernearth-the-hotel-since-ww2-dang/311999/4 "2005-07-11T15:40:18Z")
It’s always a mistake to get your knowledge from the movies, but that bit in the film **Sorceror** (Itself a remake of **Wages of Fear** ) about the nitroglycerine draining out of old untouched TNT unless it’s “turned” on a regular basis has the “ring of truth” to it. If you haven’t seen the film, it concerns several cases of TNT that hadn’t been turned in a long time, with pools of nitroglycerine in the wrapping at the base. The guy who reaches in to feel it withdraws a wet hand with liquid drops on it, and gazez in horror. He shakes his hand off carefully, and the droplets make little “cracking” noises when they hit the ground and explode from the shock. The rest of the film involves very carefully packing the boxes in shockproof circumstances and driving it cross country. From what I’ve read, it is true that the nitro can drain out of the TNT sticks, leaving behind inert clay which originally acted to prevent the nitroglycerine from exploding. No way would I stay in this hotel. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-forget-the-1-ton-of-explosives-undernearth-the-hotel-since-ww2-dang/311999/5 "2005-07-11T15:46:20Z")
That’s nothing. You should see what I find in my couch cushions. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-forget-the-1-ton-of-explosives-undernearth-the-hotel-since-ww2-dang/311999/6 "2005-07-11T15:50:22Z")
This was TNT, not dynamite. TNT sweats, but the result is a low explosive and fire hazard, not a disaster waiting to happen. My major concern would be the levels of TNT contamination in the hotel. TNT is highly toxic to just about everything except a few species of plant. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-forget-the-1-ton-of-explosives-undernearth-the-hotel-since-ww2-dang/311999/7 "2005-07-11T15:56:47Z")
> [@Nicodemus2004](#): > > Don’t I recall something about old dynamite being _highly_ sensitive, like nitro? Depends on the type of dynamite is. Some are essentially nitro combined with sawdust, which becomes more unstable over time due to the nitro leeching out and then crystallizing. The cristallized nitro is what makes it so dangerous. If the old sticks are jostled enough they’ll create friction and ignite the rest of the nitro. The stuff found under the hotel must have been the other kind–black powder. This type would have simply disintigrated having been left sitting for so long. Even if the stuff was still usable, there’s no way it would go off by itself. ---
**Author:** ![Balle\_M](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/13edae/32.png) [@Balle\_M](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balle_M)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-forget-the-1-ton-of-explosives-undernearth-the-hotel-since-ww2-dang/311999/8 "2005-07-11T16:07:38Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > The stuff found under the hotel must have been the other kind–black powder. This type would have simply disintigrated having been left sitting for so long. Even if the stuff was still usable, there’s no way it would go off by itself. If kept dry, black powder doesn’t disintigrate. I know several people that have shot the contents of 100 year-old + cans of BP with no problems and no discernable loss of power. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-forget-the-1-ton-of-explosives-undernearth-the-hotel-since-ww2-dang/311999/9 "2005-07-11T17:12:31Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > This was TNT, not dynamite. TNT sweats, but the result is a low explosive and fire hazard, not a disaster waiting to happen. My major concern would be the levels of TNT contamination in the hotel. TNT is highly toxic to just about everything except a few species of plant. This was WW2 vintage Russian explosive. No telling _what_ it was, nor _what_ it was _made of_. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-forget-the-1-ton-of-explosives-undernearth-the-hotel-since-ww2-dang/311999/10 "2005-07-11T17:22:31Z")
BBCNews is calling it TNT. The Russians used TNT, RDX and several others during the war. In any case, the stuff doesn’t sweat nitro, which is what some of the earlier posters were worrying about. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Draelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@Draelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Draelin)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-forget-the-1-ton-of-explosives-undernearth-the-hotel-since-ww2-dang/311999/11 "2005-07-11T17:27:25Z")
Good. 'Cause I watch _Lost_, and if there’s one thing we learned in the season finale, it’s that you don’t want to find a bunch of old dynamite. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-forget-the-1-ton-of-explosives-undernearth-the-hotel-since-ww2-dang/311999/12 "2005-07-11T17:29:34Z")
Finding it isn’t the problem. Waving it around when you are a red shirt **is**! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Draelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@Draelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Draelin)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-forget-the-1-ton-of-explosives-undernearth-the-hotel-since-ww2-dang/311999/13 "2005-07-11T17:31:28Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Finding it isn’t the problem. Waving it around when you are a red shirt **is**! 😃 But he thought he was starring in his _own_ show. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-forget-the-1-ton-of-explosives-undernearth-the-hotel-since-ww2-dang/311999/14 "2005-07-11T17:31:34Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Finding it isn’t the problem. Waving it around when you are a red shirt **is**! 😃 In Soviet Union, Dynamite waves _you_! ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-forget-the-1-ton-of-explosives-undernearth-the-hotel-since-ww2-dang/311999/15 "2005-07-11T17:35:01Z")
> [@Draelin](#): > > But he thought he was starring in his _own_ show. 🙂 He was. It just got cancelled. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-forget-the-1-ton-of-explosives-undernearth-the-hotel-since-ww2-dang/311999/16 "2005-07-11T17:37:33Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > BBCNews is calling it TNT. They’re also saying it’s the Moskva, while showing a picture of the Baltika. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-forget-the-1-ton-of-explosives-undernearth-the-hotel-since-ww2-dang/311999/17 "2005-07-11T17:43:09Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > They’re also saying it’s the Moskva, while showing a picture of the Baltika. Good catch! ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-forget-the-1-ton-of-explosives-undernearth-the-hotel-since-ww2-dang/311999/18 "2005-07-11T18:25:54Z")
> [@Balle\_M](#): > > If kept dry, black powder doesn’t disintigrate. Quite right. Forgot to mention that. ---
**Author:** ![Timchik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@Timchik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Timchik)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2005, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-forget-the-1-ton-of-explosives-undernearth-the-hotel-since-ww2-dang/311999/19 "2005-07-15T15:36:52Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > They’re also saying it’s the Moskva, while showing a picture of the Baltika. No, that’s the Moskva all right (it’s the building pictured on the label of Stolichnaya vodka). The word on top of the building is an ad for Baltika beer. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2005, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-forget-the-1-ton-of-explosives-undernearth-the-hotel-since-ww2-dang/311999/20 "2005-07-15T16:00:37Z")
Akh, spasibo.