You know how at the county fair, these low-rent carnival daredevils do this stunt where they enclose themselves in a box with dynamite? The hype man plays up the danger to the crowd, the explosives detonate, and after an appropriate amount of tension & drama, the daredevil emerges alive!
How do they do that, exactly? I have a couple of ideas: First, I imagine they point their feet towards the explosives, in order to limit their bodies’ exposure to the shock wave. Second, I imagine they control the amount of air in their lungs in some way. Science isn’t my strong suit, but I imagine the difference in air pressure can be mitigated with some controlled breathing.
I think Dennis Hopper gave a men’s magazine interview where someone did it to him. Basically, he said they balance the charges so they perfectly counteract each other, and all you feel is a slight pressure.
Again, not something I’d test. Also, Dennis Hopper could have been exaggerating for the interview, and its not very forceful stuff.
A lot of flash, a lot of bang, and small explosive charges to propel the sides of the box(which are actually pre-broken into lots of little pieces carefully secured together and ready to break apart on impact), with the top of the box slammed by the occupant to propel it upwards.
Just guessing, of course.
Probably a lot like the ‘fire someone out of a cannon’ trick.
That involves no shell or explosion at all. The occupant is in a sliding tube projected by compressed air, a loud boom & a bunch of smoke from the cannon, and the audience all think someone was shot from a cannon.
It could be done that way but it’s been done with a 360 degree view and the daredevil had to be in the box. I think the act done on AGT last week didn’t use dynamite. It looked like special effects charges designed to simulate the effect of an explosion, perhaps with that mildly explosive stuff that I can’t remember the name of used to make it look like an explosion when a can of it is hit with a bullet.
The explanation I’ve heard (aside from not using such powerful explosives) is that the daredevil is lying flat on the ground and the force is directed away from them. The box is flimsy and doesn’t offer much resistance to the explosion. I have no idea if that’s a valid explanation if real dynamite is used (which I doubt).
Perhaps there’s an alternate explanation you favor? Maybe the performer merely pushes the box open with their arms and legs, while simultaneously turning on flashlights and small smoke bombs?
It seems perfectly reasonable that these performers are using enough explosives to blow the box apart, while using a small enough amount to keep from killing themselves. It’s more flash than bang, but there’s definitely a lot of bang to it.
I think he saying you can’t believe what they say about the explosives. I seriously doubt dynamite is actually used, or how powerful the explosives are compared to dynamite. You’ll note this time of the year you’ll see talking heads on the news and occasionally public officials claim an M-80 firecracker which is full of flash powder is somehow equal to 1/4 stick of dynamite.
Carnivals are a bag of tricks. If a carny said the event was on the up-and-up, would you believe him? If so, you are the sucker they love and the ones they make money from.
Who says? *She says. * Is this a good source of fact? Would a carny ever lie?
Of course. Could there be the slightest reason the ingredients are kept secret? Revealing the ingredients might show that it’s baking powder and vinegar.
Who says? She says. Our unimpeachable witness, right? With no ax to grind? No show to put on?
She does? Have you verified that? Could there be any misdirection, and the powder ends up somewhere else? Could the explosive power be switched with talcum or cake flour?
How do you know that? She says it? Have you verified the depth and composition of the object? Could it be two sheets of plywood with a steel plate between?
“In her words…” here we go again. What you believe is exactly what she wants you to believe, but it may be far from the truth. You, Sir, may very well be Mr. Gullible.
Since I have never seen this act, and don’t know how it’s done, Ms Bly could be telling the truth, but I doubt it. We humans are easily fooled by experts whose job it is to fool us.
Possibly. I will never say I’ve never been fooled, nor will ever be fooled. The performance is a lot of showmanship. So was Evel Knievel’s. But he still made jumps.
My argument in this discussion is that there’s a genuine element of risk involved. How much risk, and how dangerous it really is, is something I can’t say. I’m sure the performers make it look much more dangerous than it is, but that doesn’t mean it’s no more dangerous than a football team running through a paper banner during introductions.
And in my defense, as if I have to defend myself, I tried to find documentation showing that real explosives are used, and not just making guesses as to how it’s done. If someone has a definitive source showing how the trick is done, by all means, show it. After all, that’s what the SD is about, right? And especially General Questions?
I missed Tri-Polar’s response:
Actual dynamite may or may not be used (what’s the difference between say 1/4 stick of dynamite and an amount of explosive equal to 1/4 stick of dynamite? Nuclear weapons don’t use TNT, but they’re measured in comparable tons of TNT…), but I stand by what I said: it’s theatrics coupled with an element of risk.
