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If you've never handled fireworks, it is fairly easy to mistake these for candles...
Beat me to it. As kids we'd light all varieties of M-80s and higher. I think the first time I ran into them though someone needed to stop and explain that these weren't like those blackjack crackers we'd toss around. They were also more expensive.
If they were left in a purchased home, there's a good chance they were older and without the labeling of today (or side fuses) and possibly left because the buyers were worried about the stability anyway.
You can find all kinds of weird stuff. Mother once came to a school and found an old chemistry lab that long been neglected. Near the back was an old bottle filled with liquid that surrounded a brick of white phosphorous. Unfortunately, over the years the head space in the jar had increased to where the brick was just about to break through, making it impossible for her to move and too dangerous to attempt to add liquid. Basically it was an accidental bomb ready to go off and self combust someone decided they'd leave for someone else to figure out.
Beat me to it. As kids we'd light all varieties of M-80s and higher. I think the first time I ran into them though someone needed to stop and explain that these weren't like those blackjack crackers we'd toss around. They were also more expensive.
If they were left in a purchased home, there's a good chance they were older and without the labeling of today (or side fuses) and possibly left because the buyers were worried about the stability anyway.
You can find all kinds of weird stuff. Mother once came to a school and found an old chemistry lab that long been neglected. Near the back was an old bottle filled with liquid that surrounded a brick of white phosphorous. Unfortunately, over the years the head space in the jar had increased to where the brick was just about to break through, making it impossible for her to move and too dangerous to attempt to add liquid. Basically it was an accidental bomb ready to go off and self combust someone decided they'd leave for someone else to figure out.
Unfortunately, since everyone on CD is an "expert" at something, when the experts chime in, it is easy to get the impression that "everyone knows" or "nobody would." Combine this with the habit of those who don't know to keep silent and we get a thread where "nobody would mistake a firework for a candle."
My statement to most people is just... don't assume and if you don't know what something is -- leave it alone; or report it.
It's a tragedy for this poor woman was that she (a) didn't know and (b) there was no expert nearby.
Last edited by blktoptrvl; 09-09-2018 at 09:23 AM..
I've never handled fireworks or dynamite. Do they have a paper-like coating on the outside, or what?
It seems a real stick of dynamite would blow up the whole house!
NY state would be the closest state to Bridgeport CT which is where the person lived. If you read 1 and 2 you will see that you are wrong about fireworks being legal in CT and the next state over.
I can't imagine either how someone could think a firework was a candle. I also can't imagine why they didn't have a flashlight or some candles of their own. But I've never seen dynamite either--I have only seen it in pictures. I think I may have seen little firecrackers when I was a kid, that's all. We girls usually didn't play with firecrackers as much as boys do.
Since fireworks are illegal and this woman probably had never seen one before, what is she supposed to think? It was illegal for the previous owner to have left them in the basement and no one would expect to find them there. Not that I'm taking her side 100% but it doesn't necessarily mean she's a stupid idiot.
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I'd never mistake those for candles either, and I have never purchased or handled fireworks.
