# First Maine fireworks death - unbelieveable! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 5, 2015, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-maine-fireworks-death-unbelieveable/724316 "2015-07-05T15:47:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2015, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-maine-fireworks-death-unbelieveable/724316/21 "2015-07-05T20:13:53Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > “The man had been drinking…” > > Ya think? Well, to be fair, he’s quit entirely now. ---
**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:** [July 5, 2015, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-maine-fireworks-death-unbelieveable/724316/22 "2015-07-05T20:14:56Z")
> [@Count\_Blucher](#): > > Well, to be fair, he’s quit entirely now. So what step was that? ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2015, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-maine-fireworks-death-unbelieveable/724316/23 "2015-07-05T20:26:27Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > So what step was that? Step 2: “Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.” I think he took it too literally. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2015, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-maine-fireworks-death-unbelieveable/724316/24 "2015-07-05T20:47:18Z")
It was a mortar wound? ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2015, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-maine-fireworks-death-unbelieveable/724316/25 "2015-07-05T20:57:49Z")
What an incendiary headline. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2015, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-maine-fireworks-death-unbelieveable/724316/26 "2015-07-05T21:07:36Z")
I’ll note for the record this guy definitely was not from the South. ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2015, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-maine-fireworks-death-unbelieveable/724316/27 "2015-07-05T21:09:37Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Off the top of my head, I can’t think of many things more mind-blowingly stupid. …very nice. I shouldn’t be laughing, but… ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2015, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-maine-fireworks-death-unbelieveable/724316/28 "2015-07-05T21:15:33Z")
I’m for writing it up as the last casualty of the war of 1812-1813. Back then, the Canadians gave a lot of gunpowder to the Americans in Calais so that the Americans could thoroughly enjoy shooting of fireworks on their 4th of July. We knew that sooner or later, the Americans would blow themselves up. It just took longer than we thought. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2015, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-maine-fireworks-death-unbelieveable/724316/29 "2015-07-05T21:22:57Z")
Jason Pierre-Paul, DE for the New York Giants, blew his hand up with fireworks yesterday. I wonder how that will impact his career. ---
**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:** [July 5, 2015, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-maine-fireworks-death-unbelieveable/724316/30 "2015-07-05T21:38:50Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > I’ll note for the record this guy definitely was not from the South. 😃 I’m sure glad too. He got carried away after, celebrating. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2015, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-maine-fireworks-death-unbelieveable/724316/31 "2015-07-05T21:48:20Z")
> [@Savannah](#): > > …very nice. > > I shouldn’t be laughing, but… Thank you. 🙂 Go ahead and laugh your head off! ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2015, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-maine-fireworks-death-unbelieveable/724316/32 "2015-07-05T21:49:43Z")
I’m all for July 4th being like the Purge, except self-inflicted. Puts a new spin on “going out with a bang.” I just hate that sometimes innocents get taken out too with this crazy behavior. ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2015, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-maine-fireworks-death-unbelieveable/724316/33 "2015-07-05T22:11:47Z")
Well, after hearing he was going to set off some fireworks his Mom/Girlfriend/Wife told him “Just don’t be stupid… use you head.” ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2015, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-maine-fireworks-death-unbelieveable/724316/34 "2015-07-05T23:51:17Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > So what step was that? One and done. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-maine-fireworks-death-unbelieveable/724316/35 "2015-07-06T00:24:27Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > I’d actually be interested in the cause of death here. Did he expect to launch the mortar from his head, like some kind of living roman candle? Based on my observations of the mortars I launched last night… You’re launching something about the mass of a golf ball a hundred yards straight up. Imagine how hard the golf club has to hit the ball to accomplish this. Thanks to the previously mentioned third law of Newton, that golf club is also coming down on top of our Darwin nominee’s head. And since I also doubt there was any padding at all, the entire force of the impact was delivered to a single point on top of his head. Hello instant concussion and cerebral hemorrhage. ---
**Author:** ![seal\_cleaner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@seal\_cleaner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seal_cleaner)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-maine-fireworks-death-unbelieveable/724316/36 "2015-07-06T00:26:07Z")
All gave some, some gave all. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-maine-fireworks-death-unbelieveable/724316/37 "2015-07-06T01:05:40Z")
This is the kind of death sentence I support. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-maine-fireworks-death-unbelieveable/724316/38 "2015-07-06T03:12:57Z")
Why? ---
**Author:** ![Vaevictis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f04885/32.png) [@Vaevictis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vaevictis)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-maine-fireworks-death-unbelieveable/724316/39 "2015-07-06T03:19:11Z")
So how thick of a piece of wood placed between the head and the mortar would have protected him? ---
**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 6, 2015, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-maine-fireworks-death-unbelieveable/724316/40 "2015-07-06T03:28:23Z")
One big enough he couldn’t lift it. The physics involved means he’d have to have sufficient mass in the wood to minimize the Newtonian reaction by invoking Newton’s 1st Law too. I’m not going to try to do the math, but just back of the envelope figuring leads me to think that it would take several hundred pounds of wood to lessen the force sufficiently. The fact that gravity would be working against him as well means he was pretty much doomed once he said “Hold my beer.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-maine-fireworks-death-unbelieveable/724316.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-maine-fireworks-death-unbelieveable/724316.md?page=3)