Stuff blowing up is awesome

August 10, 2006 11:10 AM

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.
posted by jonson (38 comments total)

"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.
posted by nathan_teske at 11:17 AM on August 10, 2006

my deoderant is made from atomized jets.
posted by carsonb at 11:22 AM on August 10, 2006

For those of you that worry about tapping in to a repository of loosely related video material, have no fear.
posted by prostyle at 11:26 AM on August 10, 2006

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.
posted by Pastabagel at 11:34 AM on August 10, 2006

pedantic, even. bleh...
posted by Pastabagel at 11:35 AM on August 10, 2006

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.
posted by MrMoonPie at 11:37 AM on August 10, 2006

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

Or BigFoot
posted by Flashman at 11:39 AM on August 10, 2006

That's a gibbon in the last video, not a monkey. Not to be pedantic or anything.
posted by gubo at 11:41 AM on August 10, 2006

For those of you worried about marauding bands of colored balls attacking our cities, have no fear.
posted by QuestionableSwami at 11:42 AM on August 10, 2006

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.
posted by tula at 11:45 AM on August 10, 2006

That last video takes a load off my fucking mind. Thanks!
posted by OmieWise at 11:46 AM on August 10, 2006

For those of you worried about the onslaught of inner city rap, have no fear.
posted by Pastabagel at 11:47 AM on August 10, 2006

For those of you that worry that horses & dragons are putting aside their differences to team up against mankind... good luck with that.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 12:01 PM on August 10, 2006

jonson, baby...stop...you had me at "stuff blowing up".
posted by Gamblor at 2:03 PM on August 10, 2006

Why didn't the truck in the first video just drive around that thing?
posted by flarbuse at 2:04 PM on August 10, 2006 [1 favorite]

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 !!!"
posted by mrbill at 2:12 PM on August 10, 2006

Also the Smart Car Wall Crash Test. It practically disintegrates but the "safety cage" stays intact.
posted by mrbill at 2:17 PM on August 10, 2006

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
posted by evilgenius at 2:29 PM on August 10, 2006

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.
posted by chasing at 2:38 PM on August 10, 2006 [1 favorite]

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.
posted by Thorzdad at 2:58 PM on August 10, 2006

"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.
posted by noble_rot at 3:01 PM on August 10, 2006

Youtube links usually suck but this is a great post.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 3:01 PM on August 10, 2006

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.
posted by koeselitz at 3:03 PM on August 10, 2006

For those of you blah blah blah some random junk about turtles and people etc. whatever (via BoingBoing). This one's particularly cyoot!
posted by hangashore at 3:19 PM on August 10, 2006

Youtube links usually suck but this is a great post.

Such is the power of Stuff Blowing Up. Kudos to jonson et al.
posted by hangashore at 3:28 PM on August 10, 2006

Mmm, I can't wait to eat that monkey.
posted by ninjew at 3:29 PM on August 10, 2006

Is anyone worried about men who have nothing better to do than annoy monkeys, dogs, airplanes, concrete trucks, etc?
posted by Cranberry at 3:29 PM on August 10, 2006

It's amazing how many of the Youtube links I've seen have me thinking, "this isn't going to end well..."
posted by Cyrano at 3:49 PM on August 10, 2006

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.
posted by Joeforking at 4:50 PM on August 10, 2006

...or how I learned to stop worrying and love youtube.
posted by empath at 5:21 PM on August 10, 2006

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.
posted by cribcage at 5:56 PM on August 10, 2006

"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.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:24 PM on August 10, 2006

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.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:39 PM on August 10, 2006

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.
posted by quin at 7:12 PM on August 10, 2006

This stuff belongs on Spike: The Beer, Boobs, and Blowin' Shit Up Network<tm>.
posted by baylink at 9:13 PM on August 10, 2006

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.
posted by five fresh fish at 9:44 PM on August 10, 2006

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.
posted by Mitheral at 9:34 AM on August 11, 2006

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.
posted by drstein at 10:49 AM on August 14, 2006