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Hi all. I'm sure some of you recall my brief mentions of my recent incident wherein an experiment of mine exploded, embedding metal shrapnel in myself. Now that the trauma of the occurrence has subsided in my mind, it's a little easier for me to speak of it publicly.

Warning: this post uses anatomically correct names of personal body parts. While not necessarily inappropriate, I felt some users may not feel comfortable reading this. I felt using such words best conveys what happened.

Background
Many a year ago, a wee little boy I was, I was gifted a small metal gyroscope exactly like this one:

Always had lots of fun with it, but it got stowed away into a back corner of my room where it sat for many years. Fast forward to mid May, I was in the process of moving (just graduated high school) and was going through all of my old stuff, sorting between what I wanted to throw away, put back in storage, or take with me. I decided to take the gyroscope with me. It would still be a few more days before I moved -- in the mean time, I found it was a fun toy for more than just little kids!

The Occurrence
Two days before the incident, I came up with the notion of blowing compressed air over the toy to make it spin fast. I went out to the garage and tried it out. Worked great, and sounded like a jet engine! I thought it was pretty cool. Next day, I told my friend about it, and they thought it was pretty neat as well.

On the day of the incident, I taped my camera to a carton of soy milk and set that on top of a roll of duct tap (lazy man's tripod) and pointed it toward the bench vice. Well... I'll let the video explain the rest.

For those who don't want to watch the video:
I used compressed air to accelerate the toy to the point that centrifugal force pulled it apart, sending shrapnel everywhere. I produced a nifty scream.

The Direct Outcome
I recall the explosion being incredibly loud. I felt like something had impacted me quite profoundly in the reproductive region (not sure what else to call it here!). I felt a wetness shortly thereafter, looked down, and saw that a centimeter diameter or so hole has been punctured into, well, the testicular compartment. The video cuts off roughly there... I've never felt adrenaline like that in my life. I figured immediately that my injuries weren't life threatening, but I feared potential loss of reproductive ability, which brought me utter terror. I sat down and realized that, indeed, the metal object which created the hole in my body was still inside of the aforementioned compartment. Oh yeah, not to mention, I was home alone too! I phoned relatives who in turn phoned my neighbor, who very graciously drove me 45 or so minutes to the nearest emergency room. On the ride down, I passed fully unconscious, presumably from the sheer shock of what happened. I actually felt quite well when we arrived at the ER, which was reassuring.

Long story short, an X-ray confirmed that a metal object indeed existed where I had suspected. A further sonogram revealed that the metal piece was resting on top of the testicle, but miraculously, the organ itself still had full blood flow and had suffered no significant damage. I stayed overnight at the hospital, and the next morning a surgery was performed to remove the metal object. An obscure surgery, mind you; it was performed under general anesthesia but only lasted 12 minutes!

The Aftermath
This all happened about two weeks ago at the time of this writing; everything is pretty well healed up now, which is excellent. Here's a picture of the metal piece itself:


Here's another similar piece that was found on the garage floor:


My guess it that it impacted the bench vice or similar at high speed, shearing off the corner.

And here's the center spindle:


From an analysis on the audio of the video, I suspect the toy was spinning at around 35,000 RPM when it exploded, which would have sent shrapnel flying at around 240 MPH.

The outcome of what happened is very fortunate. If the metal object had impacted my leg, just inches away from where the actual impacted occurred, a large artery could have been punctured. Had a piece gone into my neck, countless vital organs, including the all important jugular veins, would have been at risk of puncture -- I could have bled out before even being able make it to the phone. While where it hit was unfortunate, it could have been so much worse.

Now why didn't I stop blowing air on the thing before it blew up??? I've asked myself this question many times. To my best recollection, it comes down to curiosity. I was aware the thing could blow up, so I was wearing safety goggles and was trying to stand out of the shrapnel disc I predicted it would have. Still though, I assumed the risk was small. As I was spinning it up, I noticed that it seemed to be nearing its top speed. "Keep going, let it make its top speed!" I thought. And so it was, I kept the air on it to make it go faster. In the video, the last half second or so before it disintegrates, you can hear a new vibration begin. I presume this was some sort of oscillation mode the gyroscope entered, which was the final straw to put it beyond its structural limitations. A hairline crack was probably the first failure, but once that occurred, the resulting chain reaction quite efficiently pulled the top apart.

This has, on merits of outcome, easily been the stupidest thing I have ever done. I perform experiments quite occasionally, and I suppose I needed to learn that, while it's all for science and curiosity, there are limitations to be taken seriously. I'm generally quite conservative in my actions and don't perform stunts or take big risks, but as an 18 year old, this was a good life lesson: I'm not invincible.

I'm glad to be here still. I dodged the bullet, literally! It's interesting how something like this can change your life perspective... Anyone else care to share stories their stupidity experiences?

And by the way, I'd prefer if this video is kept generally unshared for now. Thanks!

Thanks for posting this. Can't stop giggling! You have made my day!

"Youch! Oh my God!" Classic!

Personally I have had quite a few near-death experiences like this, but never had the forethought to video any of them. The most memorable was probably 30 years ago when I wanted to see how far I could jump off a rope swing, which happened to be on the edge of a cliff (). I got further than I thought I'd manage and suffered two broken arms for the privilege. I would have LOVED to have had that on camera... or there was the time I dived through a double glazed plate-glass patio door (I thought it was open!)... or the time I thought it would be a good idea to stick a coke can into the circuitry of a local street-lamp that had had its cover broken off (I was only 4 at the time!)... I quickly learned its NOT a good idea.

Anyway dude, I'll be amazed if you manage to keep that gem of a video private! I know its probably still a bit of a sore subject (), but I think you should post the story into the decsription of the vid and open up comments!

Well said, mate! You did a nice job there.


Woooooow, didn't think it was that big. I assumed you were hit by small iron pieces or something. You were kinda 'lucky' there mate. For the same price, you could've lost an eye or such.

Although the vid is sort of funny, i'm pretty sure it wasn't for you, eh?

Also...hmm...didn't you by any change touch the rotating gyroscope with the metal part at the edge of the air compressor tube? Perhaps that's why the thing broke and scattered into pieces?

Next time you try out something similar, you'd better wear iron protection, LOL!

Hahah perfect! I am glad you like it!

And wow, some interesting stories you have there! When I was little I think I stuck a metal object or two in some high voltage power, too.

Just about everybody I know has said this! It probably has quite a bit of potential. I'm still trying to decide between filming another bit at the end where I explain what happened, or put it in the description, etc.

For sure! The whole occurrence was pretty remarkable in all respects!

Good point! I'm beginning to think that very well could be what did it. I remember moving the nozzle closer to the wheel to try and get a little more speed out of it; it's possible I accidentally touched it to the wheel. At the speeds it was rotating, even a little touch would constitute a pretty big impact and easily shatter it. I think it was cast aluminum too, not the strongest material!

I was scared at 3 seconds.
I finally thought "that nozzle is going to hit the...!!!"
We all need a funny anecdote to tell the grandkids when we get older.

Stupidest thing I have done... I leant too far over on a ladder when I was about 15. As it slid down the wall, it flipped and flipped me with it. I was now heading for the concrete head first.
Two things happened that saved me from dying. Firstly, my leg slipped between the rungs so I became part of the ladder rather than a free-falling object.
Secondly, the ladder hit the kitchen window ledge and came to a crashing stop a few feet above the ground. That left my head about 3 inches from the floor.
I lost most on the flesh on my shin bone where it scraped across the ladder rung. But this was a very small price to pay.

Wooooooow mate, you were very lucky!! No vid from that incident, i assume ? Nah, just kidding! I'm sure it wasn't funny at that time.

Well...i think it's my turn now to tell you all what happened to me when i was much younger. I was like 11 or something when it happened. Actually, it's the reason why i stayed little.
I'm 1,66 meters tall (not sure how much that is in English measurements, though ).

Anyways...here's what happened. It was on a Wednesday, school was finished at noon, and two of my brothers and myself returned home. We had to take the train, as usual.
There were a couple of friends with us who whent to the same school, and they lived in the same village as we did. We were sitting in the train, waiting for the train to ride us home. But, one of these friends wanted to quickly get some candy at a nearby store, before the train took of.

It looked as if he was going to miss his train, so i whent to the trainwagondoors to see if he showed up or not. That's when suddenly the traindoors closed and my head was caught in between the doors! I felt the doors pushing in my neck. I had my head outside the train while standing IN the train!
Then, on top of that, the train started to move...faster and faster...and faster! I couldn't open them freakin' doors because of the pressure. My head was outside the train, the two doors pushing in my neck...and the train was going home! LOL!!
I yeld and cried for help while the train was nearing a bridge...! I saw the landscape flashing by and the narrow bridge closing in. Luckily for me, i didn't have a big head, so there was plenty of room in between the bridgewall and train!

Finally, my brothers heard my cry for help, and one of them was quickly looking for the train conductor. To me it seemed like an eternity, but it all whent fast.

So, there you have it. That incident was the cause of me staying little!
Nah...the incident had nothing to do with my body lenght, but it's somethign i'll never forget. After all these years, it's still hilarious to tell and think about what happened.

Cheers!

I've only ever seen that in films

I once saw a woman on the outside of a train on the platform, with her hand stuck inside the train. She was holding a book, and she refused to let go of it to get her hand out
In this case, 2 big blokes got the doors open.

LOL, hahahahaaaaaaaa...yeah...too bad i couldn't film it then. Cameras were kinda pricey and mobiles didn't even exist. I'm imagining how it would look for someone seeing the train (with my head stuck in between the doors) passing by, hahahahaaaa!
Btw, which film was that ?


Geeeeeez! Was the train moving while her hand was stuck? Good thing these guys opened the door for her.

When I was in AIT, a grinding wheel exploded apart on a marine and sheered his donkey nuggets off. I don't know what happened afterwards but I I'm guessing he got a medical discharge.

When I was in 8th grade, I went to this kid's house which had a trampoline. It was on the patio underneath a basket ball net. I wasn't intentionally trying to do anything, but as I leaped from one side to the other, I sprung down under the net. When the trampoline sprung back up, hurling me upwards, my head crashed right into the rim. It left a loud ringing that everyone could hear. Since I wasn't the only one hearing the loud ringing, I kept jumping until someone pointing out I was bleeding. I ended up with over 20 stitches.

It seems that spinning objects have a propensity to hit that area when they disintegrate.

So apparently my dad told a coworker my story, and that coworker told another coworker the story. While the first coworker was telling the story to the second, before he finished, the second said "ahh, and it exploded, didn't it?" Apparently the second coworker was once cleaning his skateboard bearings with compressed air, and realized that they were beginning to spin rather fast. He got playing with it, and eventually one of the bearings exploded. Thankfully he suffered no significant injury from the incident.

Your story reminds me of a time when I was pretty little, jumping on my sister's bed, fell over and hit the headboard with my head. They don't call it the headboard for nothing! Anyway, I needed a couple stitches.

And that reminds me of another incident I had, for which I was too young to remember. I was about 2 or so, and one of my parents accidentally closed a door on my pinky. Pretty well the whole tip of the finger was sheared off, held on by merely a thread. One of my sisters held the tip of the finger on during the drive to the hospital. Apparently, when we actually got to the hospital, I was totally cheery and was offering cheese crackers to the doctors. This caused doctors to come from all over the hospital to see this little 2 year old with his pinky partially sheared off, happily offering crackers to people.

The most memorable one is from an eighties British comedy called The Young Ones. The humour is very British, and it intentionally has a low-budget feel to it.



RIP Rik Mayal, comedy genius

Oh geeez hahaha, I was cringing, curling up in my seat and watching through my fingers within about 3 seconds. I would have covered my ears if I didn't have earphones on.

Geeez.

I mean, I'm laughing but cringing at the same time. That looks like it would have been a horrible experience! I've experienced mild shock before, when my brother broke his wrist and his hand went in a Z shape, but I can't imagine how you must have felt. I'm not squeamish; I live on a farm, so I've seen cattle and chooks killed in front of me; it's not pleasant watching any living thing die but I never felt sick.... but there's something about seeing a human body damaged like that that can make your mind recoil in horror

I guess the only stupid thing I've done that I can think of would be probably 12 or so years ago - I would have been about 9 or 10. We lived out in the sticks back then (more than we do now), and my brother and I (for whatever reason) were wandering around with metal trowels. I think we were pretending they were swords. We had no proper washing line, just ropes strung between a couple of poles, but on that particular day the line was very full of washing. For whatever reason (again), my brother and I started swatting at the washing with the trowels. As you can imagine, we quickly got tangled up and lost sight of each other. Fortunately we were smart enough to not bash each other directly in the face, by simply staying far enough apart, but unfortunately the item of clothing I was swishing at fell off the line a fraction of a second before my hardest swing, and at that moment the sharp metal part of the trowel decided to relieve itself of its connection to the plastic handle and flew straight into my brother's face.

He still has the scar to this day, just above his eye.

Haha, it's funny to me now too! This will serve me forever as a fun story to tell. Perhaps even a conversation starter? "Hey, stranger. Yeah you. Did you know I made an IED and shot myself in the, erm, parts, with it?"

Oh, man, it was crazy. I was wearing earplugs because the thing was loud as is, but I recall the explosion itself being incredibly loud through them. Combine that with the feeling of something hitting you VERY hard in the nether regions (it seriously felt like a baseball). Honestly, besides being startled, my first feeling was probably embarrassment that I had actually caused the thing to explode (I realized beforehand it could). I then realized I needed to check for injury, considering I had been hit so hard. At about the same time that realization came about, I felt a wetness in the aforementioned region. Checking down there and seeing copious amounts of blood plus a hole in my flesh was what really set the shock in. See, I was planned to go camping the next morning, and I realized that wouldn't be happening. But truly, I recognized that I wasn't in danger of death per se, but I realized that my future childbearing ability was threatened. That was probably the biggest "oh crap, what the actual heck have I just done" moment I've ever had. More specifically worded, it was an "Oh crap, I may have just castrated myself" moment. Don't you hate those?

Breathing uncontrollably, but feeling like I could move a mountain if needed (adrenaline is crazy stuff), I phoned my dad, who was already on the camping trip. He phoned my neighbor, who promptly drove over and took me to the ER. On the drive down, I passed almost completely out from the adrenaline. The last time I felt that way was when I fainted from locked knees at my sister's wedding. Oh, fun times!

As it happens, I actually went camping the next day. Thus, that day consisted of a full general anesthetic surgery in the morning and camping in the wilderness in the evening. It was a limited motion camping trip for sure, but that was nice because I didn't have to help pack up.

Aaaaah, that's an interesting story for sure! There are things we as humans do; we cognitively know it's stupid before we do it, but we don't realize it. Then we do it, and it goes bad. Then the real "oh crap" feelings comes in, and it's a crappy one.

Well...hmm...you could use it as a starter line for dragging girls ?


And, did you for one second, think or realize that the camera was shooting your every move ?


Oh, I see...you didn't want to pack up, eh?

All things considered, you were very lucky though, mate! Glad that you're doing ok . I mean, things could've been worse.