As some of you know I am putting together a Mission Impossible type exercise for some executives. Now, as with all mission impossible tapes, I need mine to “self-destruct” without really destructing. I figure I could toss it in a garbage can or something out of sight and set up a little explosion with a loud noise a little smoke and that’s it. Being a non-chemistry type gal I have no idea how to do this, any ideas?
Hmm, you might be able to wire something together with a little smoke bomb from a fireworks stand (where do they migrate to after the Fourth of July?), a model rocket igniter and a battery.
Or just get a smoker to hide in the garbage can and exhale when you throw the tape in.
If you remember the original MI on television, there was no explosion, just a puff of smoke to show the tape had self-destructed.
So the easiest solution is a smoke bomb. Just find a state where fireworks are sold legally. Or ask a 12 year old boy.
My SWAG = How about putting some talcum powder in a balloon, blow the balloon up and put it in the can. Have the tape break the balloon.
We wanted an little BOOM because they won’t be expecting it. If it can’t be done with the sound though maybe a smoke bomb would be okay.
Hmm, I used to have instructions for a safe smoke powder lying around somewhere… Was safe enought that you could rub it twixt your fingers, and it’d smoke. Lemme see if I can remeber, but don’t blame me if this doesn’t work.
Take a bunch (don’t remember how many) matchbook covers (the kind that you can only strike against the cover, not the sandpaper kind), cut off all the striking strips, and place them (the strips) face-down in a metal pie pan. Set the cardboard on fire, and let it burn until all the cardboard is consumed (keep an eye on it), and then quickly cover it with something metal (like a pan lid) to smother it. Once the fire’s out, let it cool, and the residue in the bottom of the pan is your powder. Any friction will cause it to smoke.
You’re on your own for the bang, though. Perhaps some caps?
Have your mother-in-law hide near the site. At the appropriate time, tell her what you REALLY think of her. Small explosion, almost guaranteed.
Hmmmm. I have some trashy friends who are smokers… 
They try to fool me, but I realize that they are just blowing smoke.
You should be able to get some flashpaper from a novelty or magic store. There must be some trick to igniting that stuff, but if not, the model rocket igniter would work.
Here you go. $30.00 or $40.00 plus the cost of the flash paper.
Humbug – you can make one of those devices yourself for a few dollars. Just take an electrical outlet housing – the steel box that goes in the wall – and poke out only one of the side holes. Then take an electrical cord, cut it (keeping the plug on one end), and solder the wires to 2 alligator clips. You will still need the flash paper and flash powder, but a magic store or theatre supply store should have those.
Then: you take a piece of very thin wire (I used threads pulled from the ragged edge of a window screen) a couple inches long, and tie a little knot in the middle of it. Then lay it on the flash paper, put a teaspoon or so of powder on the loop, and roll the flash paper up like a joint, with the ends of your wire sticking out the sides. Tie the ends off with little snips of wire so the powder won’t fall out.
Then, you run the alligator clips into your little metal box, put one clip on each end of the screen wire, and you’re all set. Just plug the other end of the electrical cable into a power strip, and turn it on for a second. The electricity will arc across the little loop in the middle of the wire, and generate much heat, igniting the flash paper and the powder. You’ll get a FOOM and a flash and smoke, which sounds like what you’re looking for, and you can set it off from across the room if you want it to be a surprise.
I used this setup about ten years ago for flash pots during a children’s show – really impressed the kids, so I’m sure executives will be twice as thrilled =)
Just use black poweder. 
As an added bonus, you get that pleasant ‘fires-of-hell’ smell.
None of those look anything small. A lot of them look as though youll get crap everywhere.
Get a small balloon, smoke a cigarette & fill the balloon with the smoke, prick the balloon to get the effect. That should do just what you want without getting sued.
Back in high school, we used to use magnesium powder. Although if you used too much of it, those executives would probably need a change of underwear :D.
I had a teacher that did this exact thing.
He took out the tape (atfer it said that it would self-destruct in 5 seconds) and dropped it into a drawer. Then he reached into the drawer and brought out a plastic bowl that he ostensibly had put the tape it.
There was smoke pouring out of the bowl.
He had kept some Dry Ice in the drawer, next ot the bowl of water, wrapped in plastic and a towel. Then, when he dropped the tape into the bowl (actually, next to it in the drawer) he quickly rolled the Ice out and into the water.
It wasn’t quite Industral Lights and Magic, but it looked neat, we got the idea, and it probably only cost him 5 or 6 bucks. I mean, you can buy Dry Ice at the Supermarket now, you know?
I like the talc of cig smoke in a balloon trick.
It shouldn’t take a rocket scientist to figure a way to make the balloon break when throwing the recorder in a trash can.
Hint a pin or nail and a board.