And what country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
I remember those ads as a kid, both print and TV.... yet I never saw a blasting cap in the wild. I wonder where it was that they were a problem...I mean, from the ads, you'd ahve thought they were all over the place, just laying in the grass.
Abandoned quarries. My first visits to an abandoned quarry was with dad. He and some other Marines were diving salvage at behest of the Sheriff. (North Carolina)
After that, Boy Scout outings were to a different quarry.
Other than that, we were more likely to find .50 cal and the 20mm since we did live on base on the road to the range. (Kaneohe Bay)
Turns out that in the 50s in rural areas you could find dynamite, fuse, and caps for sale at the hardware stores because ranchers and farmers needed to remove the odd stump and/or build roads. I believe that they were careful to sell to responsible adults only, but those folks may not have stored the items poorly and that’s why the PSAs in print and on TV.
A kid from my elementary school in Eastern Kentucky lost an eye when he detonated a blasting cap he found in his father’s shed. I believe he was able to do it with a 9 volt battery, but this was over 40 years ago, so maybe I’m misremembering that.
I remember my grade school having a big fuss about blasting caps, because someone found some on the playground. I don't think there was any excavation/construction going on nearby at the time, so it is unclear how those blasting caps got there.
Of course, this was in the 1960's and it was in coal mining country, so who knows what people could find in grandpa's workshop.
anybody else remember the t.v. commercial with i think mickey mantle hitting some baseballs and saying how this is blasting but that there was another kind of blasting. that's when went into the spiel about the danger of blasting caps. me equating the baseball in the commercial to a blasting cap being in a baseball. after the older boys in the hood told me "yeah" there's one of them caps in the middle of every baseball. was a few years before i found out different. young and dumb.
I remember those ads as a kid, both print and TV....
ReplyDeleteyet I never saw a blasting cap in the wild.
I wonder where it was that they were a problem...I mean, from the ads, you'd ahve thought they were all over the place, just laying in the grass.
After seeing the safety warnings, I looked everywhere for blasting caps.
DeleteNever found one...
Always wanted to blow up my sister but never was able to find one either…
ReplyDeleteThey were at least as prevalent as quicksand.
ReplyDeleteAbandoned quarries. My first visits to an abandoned quarry was with dad. He and some other Marines were diving salvage at behest of the Sheriff. (North Carolina)
ReplyDeleteAfter that, Boy Scout outings were to a different quarry.
Other than that, we were more likely to find .50 cal and the 20mm since we did live on base on the road to the range. (Kaneohe Bay)
Turns out that in the 50s in rural areas you could find dynamite, fuse, and caps for sale at the hardware stores because ranchers and farmers needed to remove the odd stump and/or build roads. I believe that they were careful to sell to responsible adults only, but those folks may not have stored the items poorly and that’s why the PSAs in print and on TV.
ReplyDeleteA kid from my elementary school in Eastern Kentucky lost an eye when he detonated a blasting cap he found in his father’s shed. I believe he was able to do it with a 9 volt battery, but this was over 40 years ago, so maybe I’m misremembering that.
Delete
ReplyDeleteBut if you were to find a blasting cap, the last person you'd call would be the police. Too much fun to be had.
I remember my grade school having a big fuss about blasting caps, because someone found some on the playground. I don't think there was any excavation/construction going on nearby at the time, so it is unclear how those blasting caps got there.
ReplyDeleteOf course, this was in the 1960's and it was in coal mining country, so who knows what people could find in grandpa's workshop.
I found some of those bad boys at Geiger circa 1961, Actually they found me and I was not only given permission to play with them, I was ordered.
ReplyDeleteI was an airborne demolition specialist in the army and the last guy out of the c130 was who carried the caps.
ReplyDeleteanybody else remember the t.v. commercial with i think mickey mantle hitting some baseballs and saying how this is blasting but that there was another kind of blasting. that's when went into the spiel about the danger of blasting caps. me equating the baseball in the commercial to a blasting cap being in a baseball. after the older boys in the hood told me "yeah" there's one of them caps in the middle of every baseball. was a few years before i found out different. young and dumb.
ReplyDelete