No, first we have to write a myth about it, and get it spread around the interwebs. I suggest including a loyal dog, who saves a toddler from the explosion, and the only piece that hits him is stopped by the face of Jesus as represented on the sweatshirt he is wearing.
The religious glurge ones spread fastest - we should be ready for next seasons taping.
If only we could Sarah Palin in there somewhere. . .
It was her dog. Really, my friend told me because her neighbor was there. It happened at a political rally in Hawaii. You have the other parts wrong though; the flaming coconut shard hit the dog who ran in front of the toddler. The scorch mark left on the dog was the face of the Virgin Mary. (Or was it Jesus? Gandhi? Obama? Take your pick).
It’s been a few years since this thread was updated. I came across it yesterday and I got my account activated. Have you done the coconut test and if you did what were the results?
Eight years and no definitive answer? That’s not like The Straight Dope at all.
I wonder if the RHNB* guy would be interested in experimenting on a coconut.
Off-topic Public Service Announcement:
DON’T DO THIS !!!
Especially, don’t squirt lighter fluid from those squirt-cans it comes in, onto an already-started BBQ! The flame can go up the squirt stream into the can, making it a bomb! Every time I see someone do this, I cringe.
THIS IS NOT HYPOTHETICAL! It happened to a friend of my father. She got herself torched and badly burned. When I was a child, I would often see the scars on her entire arm.
If you need to add lighter fluid to a fire, pour some into a little cup first and toss that onto the fire.
Or spray it from your mouth like I did. Oh wait, that was Jack Daniels. Now I want to know about the campfire coconuts…
What happens if you put de lime in de coconut and mix dem bode up?
Why isn’t this definitive?
Why on earth would you need to put lighter fluid on a fire? As a lifelong pyromaniac, I have never had to do this. Once there is a fire, you can just add tinder (or paper) if you need to make it larger fast.
But corn is a seed too, an it explodes. OK, it is much smaller, but is can be pretty violent.
But corn does not have a large hollow space with comparatively lots of liquid in it, and it has a tough shell but a much thinner one.
No video. Perhaps definitive wasn’t the right word, but I was expecting someone to come back with video.
This coconut isn’t in a fire but it is on fire. With some kind of accelerant on it to keep it burning.
After a minute and a half it just burns. No pop.
UPDATE: If a coconut goes through cremation it will explode though.
Cool. I had to go look and I have to say that a lot of people posting video on Youtube are nuts. Think before trying any of these.
This matches Indian’s description. It’s charring unhusked coconuts for culinary reasons – no boom
Coconut palm catches fire due to lightning strike - more than one. No obvious boom, but it’s hard to tell if there were pops.
This guy submerged coconuts in liquid nitrogen. No boom, but interesting.
Exploding a coconutwith electricityand swears. And with electricity and fewer swears. Seriously, who uses an old CRT monitor as blast containment?
These guys try to explode a coconut with a deep fryer(after trying sodium and then trying thermite).
Red Hot Nickel Ball guy does not have a coconut, but does have coconut oil.
The movie Swiss Family Robinson had grenades made out of coconuts. So someone had to try that.
And someone filled a coconut with molten copper. Some people have no sense of personal safety.
The local market is out of coconuts. How about I just throw a can of coconut milk on a campfire? From a safe distance, of course. Safety first. Beer next.
If you take proper safety precautions, you’ll be an oddity on Youtube.