# Dry Ice Bombs at LAX.

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-ice-bombs-at-lax/671321>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [October 15, 2013, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-ice-bombs-at-lax/671321 "2013-10-15T16:24:33Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\
**Post date:** [October 15, 2013, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-ice-bombs-at-lax/671321/1 "2013-10-15T16:24:33Z")

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Dry Ice bombs are an old prank that makes a big boom. Can be dangerous by blowing out eardrums or shrapnel from the plastic bottle. Mythbusters has set several off over the years.

Who would risk prison setting one off at LAX? 😕 These post 9/11 days the Feds will treat this the same as a real bomb. They’ll bury this dude in prison for decades. Hell, they may even waterboard this guy. The Feds don’t screw around with people they consider terrorists.

Whats the point? Are they trying to show how weak security is at LAX? Get attention without actually killing dozens of people? A dumb prank? What’s this dude trying to do?

Glad it’s not C-4 or another explosive. But whats the point of risking serious prison time with a relatively harmless dry ice bomb?

> **[LAX dry ice bombs: 4 devices left in restricted areas, police say](https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-lax-dry-ice-bombs-20131014-story.html)**
>
> Detectives late Monday were investigating how four dry ice bombs -- two of which exploded -- were placed in restricted areas at Los Angeles International Airport.

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**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\
**Post date:** [October 15, 2013, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-ice-bombs-at-lax/671321/2 "2013-10-15T16:54:31Z")

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Probably some dumbass who hates his job there and is happy to be riling people up - until he gets busted hard and whines about how he’s being treated like a terrorist over a prank.

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**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\
**Post date:** [October 15, 2013, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-ice-bombs-at-lax/671321/3 "2013-10-15T17:31:18Z")

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[What is a dry ice bomb.](http://www.nbcnews.com/science/what-dry-ice-bomb-8C11396228)I didn’t think dry ice could break a glass bottle (like a mayo jar or pickle jar). I think the screw top would blow off before the glass breaks.

Same thing with metal. I can’t think of a metal container that can be sealed. Beer cans, soda cans, canned food cans. You can’t get a air tight seal.

> **[What is a dry-ice bomb? ](https://www.nbcnews.com/science/what-dry-ice-bomb-8C11396228)**

> [@](#):
>
> For that reason, dry-ice bombs made in glass or metal containers — or in containers that also have nails or other shrapnel items in them — can be especially dangerous.

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**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\
**Post date:** [October 15, 2013, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-ice-bombs-at-lax/671321/4 "2013-10-15T17:34:00Z")

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Could be part of a more nuanced threat - “We got these in, we could get real bombs, too.” To what end is only a guess.

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**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\
**Post date:** [October 15, 2013, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-ice-bombs-at-lax/671321/5 "2013-10-15T17:38:38Z")

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We put one under a metal waste bin when I was a kid. It shredded the bin, and kicked some of the pieces high enough to land on the roof of a nearby three story building. They’re dangerous enough that I’d think leaving them in public buildings goes beyond being just a “prank”.

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**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\
**Post date:** [October 15, 2013, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dry-ice-bombs-at-lax/671321/6 "2013-10-15T17:51:56Z")

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> [@aceplace57](#):
>
> Same thing with metal. I can’t think of a metal container that can be sealed. Beer cans, soda cans, canned food cans. You can’t get a air tight seal.

There’s load of metal water bottles available cheap now, both steel and aluminum, like [these](http://www.kleankanteen.com/products/special/reflect.php).