Comments on: Stuff blowing up is awesome

Stuff blowing up is awesome

jonson — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 11:10:38 -0800

For those who worry that the concrete pillars around U.S. Federal buildings aren't strong enough to stop a motivated car bomber in an 18 wheeler, this video should comfort you. Similarly, for those of you who are worried that the concrete shielding around our weapons bunkers is not thick enough, this video should put you at ease. And finally, for those of you that worry that dogs & monkeys are putting aside their differences to team up against mankind, this video should lay that myth to rest.

By: nathan_teske

nathan_teske — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 11:17:50 -0800

"Fortunately, the pilot walked away with only a few bumps and bruises and a broken right arm." I think somebody didn't actually watch the video.

By: carsonb

carsonb — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 11:22:53 -0800

my deoderant is made from atomized jets.

By: prostyle

prostyle — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 11:26:39 -0800

For those of you that worry about tapping in to a repository of loosely related video material, have no fear.

By: Pastabagel

Pastabagel — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 11:34:34 -0800

Not to be pendantic, but the truck in that video is a 6 wheeler, not an 18 wheeler. I'd like to see how the pillar stands up against a Peterbilt (PDF) or a Freightliner.

By: Pastabagel

Pastabagel — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 11:35:14 -0800

pedantic, even. bleh...

By: MrMoonPie

MrMoonPie — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 11:37:34 -0800

For those of you that worry that robots & monkeys are putting aside their differences to team up against mankind, this video should lay that myth to rest.

By: Flashman

Flashman — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 11:39:59 -0800

'd like to see how the pillar stands up against a Peterbilt (PDF) or a Freightliner. Or BigFoot

By: gubo

gubo — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 11:41:50 -0800

That's a gibbon in the last video, not a monkey. Not to be pedantic or anything.

By: QuestionableSwami

QuestionableSwami — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 11:42:50 -0800

For those of you worried about marauding bands of colored balls attacking our cities, have no fear.

By: tula

tula — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 11:45:54 -0800

The 'no passenger jet hit the Pentagon on 9/11 because there was so little plane debris' fringe should watch video #2. Kinda shows how plane + massive concrete = no more plane.

By: OmieWise

OmieWise — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 11:46:06 -0800

That last video takes a load off my fucking mind. Thanks!

By: Pastabagel

Pastabagel — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 11:47:09 -0800

For those of you worried about the onslaught of inner city rap, have no fear.

By: It's Raining Florence Henderson

It's Raining Florence Henderson — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 12:01:59 -0800

For those of you that worry that horses & dragons are putting aside their differences to team up against mankind... good luck with that.

By: Gamblor

Gamblor — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 14:03:37 -0800

jonson, baby...stop...you had me at "stuff blowing up".

By: flarbuse

flarbuse — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 14:04:59 -0800

Why didn't the truck in the first video just drive around that thing?

By: mrbill

mrbill — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 14:12:26 -0800

I prefer the Dump Truck Vs. Concrete Barrier video. "Truck = 65,000 lbs. Speed = 50 mph Kinetic Energy = 5.5 MILLION ft. lbs. Stopped in 24 INCHES !!!"

By: mrbill

mrbill — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 14:17:35 -0800

Also the Smart Car Wall Crash Test. It practically disintegrates but the "safety cage" stays intact.

By: evilgenius

evilgenius — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 14:29:44 -0800

Your honor, I would like to refute the assertion that monkey and dog are not working together and submit the following filmed display of cross-species grooming as evidence

By: chasing

chasing — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 14:38:23 -0800

For those of you that worry that cats and hammers are putting aside their differences to team up against mankind, this video should lay that myth to rest.

By: Thorzdad

Thorzdad — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 14:58:40 -0800

For those of you that worry that cement trucks and dynamite are putting aside their differences to team up against mankind this video should lay that to rest.

By: noble_rot

noble_rot — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 15:01:27 -0800

"Truck = 65,000 lbs. Speed = 50 mph Kinetic Energy = 5.5 MILLION ft. lbs. Stopped in 24 INCHES !!!" 5.5 million ft-lbs = 1780 kCal = 6 Snickers bars (my preferred energy unit). Now, replace your kinetic energy with chemical energy. Say, a truck full (let's say 1000L) of TNT. That's 4.184 MJ/kg * 1.6 gm/cc * 1000L = 1.6 Million kCal = 5,300 Snickers bars Let's see your concrete barrier then. This video still leaves me worried. But it's pretty cool to see stuff blow up. If you got to atomic energy scales, expect another factor of 10-100. Although you probably aren't worried about buildings at that point.

By: Optimus Chyme

Optimus Chyme — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 15:01:53 -0800

Youtube links usually suck but this is a great post.

By: koeselitz

koeselitz — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 15:03:12 -0800

Pastabagel: "Not to be pendantic, but the truck in that video is a 6 wheeler, not an 18 wheeler. I'd like to see how the pillar stands up against a Peterbilt (PDF) or a Freightliner." I was thinking about this. I actually have a feeling that the pole-thing being demonstrated (and a concrete pole, by extension) would be more effective at stopping a Peterbilt or Freightliner (or similar American semi truck) than the 6-wheeler in the video. I can't say that necessarily for the trailer, but trucks in the United States are hardly ever "cabovers" like the one seen in the video (and like the ones you see all over Europe). That's because cabovers are incredibly dangerous in accidents: they tend to catapult whatever's in the cab (which usually includes a driver) long distances during collisions. You can see that pretty well from the video: the cab is utterly destroyed, and the sand flows through the top of it, where people's torsos ought to be. Peterbilts and Freightliners are built to stop when they hit a pole/wall/car; that is, the stuff in the cab is supposed, in theory, to stay back more. So the driver is more likely to live. That's my understanding of it, anyhow.

By: hangashore

hangashore — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 15:19:36 -0800

For those of you blah blah blah some random junk about turtles and people etc. whatever (via BoingBoing). This one's particularly cyoot!

By: hangashore

hangashore — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 15:28:08 -0800

Youtube links usually suck but this is a great post. Such is the power of Stuff Blowing Up. Kudos to jonson et al.

By: ninjew

ninjew — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 15:29:25 -0800

Mmm, I can't wait to eat that monkey.

By: Cranberry

Cranberry — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 15:29:40 -0800

Is anyone worried about men who have nothing better to do than annoy monkeys, dogs, airplanes, concrete trucks, etc?

By: Cyrano

Cyrano — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 15:49:01 -0800

It's amazing how many of the Youtube links I've seen have me thinking, "this isn't going to end well..."

By: Joeforking

Joeforking — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 16:50:20 -0800

they tend to catapult whatever's in the cab (which usually includes a driver) long distances during collisions. I think the point is that it is the heavy cargo at back which zooms forward destroying all (of the truck) in its path.

By: empath

empath — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 17:21:19 -0800

...or how I learned to stop worrying and love youtube.

By: cribcage

cribcage — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 17:56:51 -0800

For those who worry that the concrete pillars around U.S. Federal buildings aren't strong enough to stop a motivated car bomber in an 18 wheeler, this video should comfort you. No. This pole was constructed to withstand impact; those pillars are decorative. And I don't know how far that pole extends under the ground, but I've seen telephone poles installed and I'd wager this is similar — whereas if a truck collides with a decorative pillar, the impact will occur close to the bottom end. Cool video. Neat invention. But it's not relevant to your everyday concrete pillar.

By: flapjax at midnite

flapjax at midnite — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 18:24:11 -0800

"The 'no passenger jet hit the Pentagon on 9/11 because there was so little plane debris' fringe should watch video #2. Kinda shows how plane + massive concrete = no more plane" Video= Very small plane carrying very little fuel. Pentagon=Very big plane carrying lots of fuel. Video= Small plane (not airborne) straight into very thick and anchored slab of reinforced concrete in controlled experiment. Pentagon=Very big plane hits building (note: "building", not very thick and anchored slab of reinforced concrete) at angle in uncontrolled event. Just sayin', from a scientifically objective point of view, the video alone does not conclusively negate certain points being made by the "fringe" theorists.

By: flapjax at midnite

flapjax at midnite — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 18:39:07 -0800

for those of you that worry that dogs & monkeys are putting aside their differences to team up against mankind, this video should lay that myth to rest. I dunno, jonson, just looks like some good-natured horsin' around to me... I'd say that sort of buddy-buddy behavior is the precursor to the full-scale attack on humans that we've all been fearing.

By: quin

quin — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 19:12:06 -0800

Say what you will, the above posted videos of trucks hitting inanimate objects are impressive. I would have figured that dump truck would have wasted that concrete barrier. Clearly this is an experiment I will need to perform myself to see if I can duplicate these results. You know. For Science.

By: baylink

baylink — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 21:13:29 -0800

This stuff belongs on Spike: The Beer, Boobs, and Blowin' Shit Up Network<tm>.

By: five fresh fish

five fresh fish — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 21:44:48 -0800

I note the massive concrete barrier suffers far worse than the 13" steel post. Different vehicles, to be sure... but I suspect that rising/lowering post was some pretty special work and extended a hella long way into the ground. The jet being vapourised was awesome, and I want to see more videos like that. I'm a guy: blowing shit up is always a thrill.

By: Mitheral

Mitheral — Fri, 11 Aug 2006 09:34:29 -0800

flarbuse writes "Why didn't the truck in the first video just drive around that thing?" I'm thinking in practice there would be a row of the posts at less than truck width intervals.

By: drstein

drstein — Mon, 14 Aug 2006 10:49:09 -0800

The capitol building in Sacramento, CA has similar concrete pillars. They're actually set up as planter boxes, and are a non-standard mix of concrete. Very strong stuff, and very dense. They had them set up across pathways to prevent another semi truck from being driven into the building. I was on N St when that happened and watched the entire event unfold. (Got some photos right after it happened, too.) Those pillars showed up shortly after. This happened in January of 2001.