Kids and Fireworks do not mix

All Brits know this. Why in the fuck were the kids lighting the fireworks tonight? And going back to them within seconds if they didn't start as expected? And having no shoes? And lighting them in the street? And picking them up to douse them while they were still sputtering... and... and... and.... I can't believe no-one was hurt. They were throwing "poppers" at the kids lighting the frewirks too. We left. I guess that's one way of showing your independance from Brit rule...... /Darwinisminaction

The kids lit our fireworks from the time we were "old enough." That is old enough to safely and responsibly play with fire. We started out with strict adult supervision, and eventually were left to our own devices when we proved our trustworthiness.

I was allowed to lite fire works young ,
then when I got older was given Whole grosses of bottle rockets and told to have fun ,
But this from the Mom who used to shoot at us with Roman candles

Playing with fire is generally irresponsible. But fire is reasonably predictable. Fireworks are not. They are often poorly made and don't perform as expected. And even the best behaves and most sensiblt kids fuck up royally at critical momnet, becaus they're kids.

Tonight I saw kids leaning over fireworks as they lit them, and I saw kids aged 11 and 9 with expensive (illegal in MI) mortar fireworks with no shoes and ...oh wait... actually no parent on site..... setting off two fireworks each at the same time except not actaully....., so one started fireworking while the other kid was still lighting his....

Job security. Heh.

But really though, kids will be kids. They don't really understand how dangerous some of that stuff can be. The parents are the first step to responsible fireworks handling by kids.

Bullitt;743474 wrote:

Job security. Heh.

But really though, parents will be idiots. They don't really understand how dangerous some of that stuff can be. Losing an eye is the first step to responsible fireworks handling by kids.

Minor corrections. :)

Can't argue with that either

Every year as we approach Guy Fawkes Night (Bonfire Night as it's also known) the tv is full of warning ads showing the dangers of fireworks. Schools have fire safety officers come around to give talks about the dangers of fireworks. We have it drilled into us from a young age, that fireworks are dangerous and should only be lit by adults.

Still every year some kids get hurt by fireworks.

Me, I am terrified of fucking fireworks and always have been. Not helped by the fact that Mum was seriously hurt by one when she was a kid. A rocket was lit and the milk bottle it was propped in fell over and it shot right into her stomach. I inherited her nerves around them :p

When I was in my 20s I safely (so I thought) lit a firework that was supposed to helicopter up to a height of 20 or 30 feet and make a beautiful shower of colorful sparks.

Instead, about a third of a nano second after I lit the fuse (and before I could get more than four feet away) the firework shot up to about my eye level and promptly blew up with a report as loud as an Ash Can (type of firework)

I couldn't hear anything for about 20 minutes and the flash was so bright I couldn't see for almost an hour.

Ash Can, Silver Salute, M-80:

M80 - The original M80 was a military simulator that was sold as a firecracker. M80s are red in color, one and one-half inches long, 5/8 of an inch in diameter, with a green waterproof fuse sticking out the side. It contained two grams of flash powder and was responsible for hundreds of serious injuries due to its powerful blast. These items were banned by the CPSC in 1966, and made illegal by the BATF (now ATFE) in the 1970's. Legal M80's today contain 50 milligrams of flash powder, which is about 1/40th of the original M80. Illegal M80's sometimes contain compositions that are sensitive to shock and can injure of kill people. If you like having full use of your fingers, hands, and eyes, don't mess with illegal M80's.

http://www.fireworksalliance.org/cgi-bin/viewpage.pl?p=glossary

Guy I know's brother messed around with making homemade M-80s after the ban ... didn't know much about fusing, or mixed up the quick and slow fuses like The Producers ... anyway ... my friend, who was around 10, had his right hand blown off by one of those things.

(and yes, I also knew a guy who had his eye put out with a bb gun)

Let us all take a lesson from Jimmy, shall we? It really is all in fun until someone loses the aforementioned eye.

http://www.amazon.com/Follow-My-Leader-James-Garfield/dp/0140364854#_

(I must've read this book 10 times in elementary school.)

DanaC;743488 wrote:

...A rocket was lit and the milk bottle it was propped in fell over and it shot right into her stomach. ...

Through which opening?

the tv is full of warning ads showing the dangers of fireworks

I swear I say this every year:

Because every year there is the Annual Airing of the Fireworks Safety Demonstration, in which a large piece of fruit or mannequin hand is blown up by Important Officials using dangerous fireworks, to show everybody how dangerous they are. And so, every year watching it, millions of kids say "Awesome!! Where can we get some of that and blow shit up!!"

We used to get subjected to pictures of real maimed kids from a very young age. Worked for me. My nurse friend was on duty last night and reported a 5yo was brought in with a firework in the eye injury. The 5yo had been lighting it. WTF?

infinite monkey;743496 wrote:

Let us all take a lesson from Jimmy, shall we? It really is all in fun until someone loses the aforementioned eye.

http://www.amazon.com/Follow-My-Leader-James-Garfield/dp/0140364854#_

(I must've read this book 10 times in elementary school.)

One of my childhood favorites as well.

monster;743468 wrote:

All Brits know this. Why in the fuck were the kids lighting the fireworks tonight? And going back to them within seconds if they didn't start as expected? And having no shoes? And lighting them in the street? And picking them up to douse them while they were still sputtering... and... and... and.... I can't believe no-one was hurt. They were throwing "poppers" at the kids lighting the frewirks too. We left. I guess that's one way of showing your independance from Brit rule...... /Darwinisminaction

It's "The American Way". Don't try to take our guns from us. Don't limit how fast we can drive, or the size of the obnoxious vehicle we drive. Don't make us wear a helmet when we ride a motorcycle.

We're AMERICAN. We chew up fireworks and spit out sparks!:rolleyes:

Americans: Fighting since 1776 for the right to steal potted plants from your porch and to blow our fingers off.

Brits: they're not sorry about our fingers.

:lol:

Spexxvet;743524 wrote:

It's "The American Way". Don't try to take our guns from us. Don't limit how fast we can drive, or the size of the obnoxious vehicle we drive. [FONT="Arial Black"]Don't make us wear a helmet when we ride a motorcycle[/FONT].

We're AMERICAN. We chew up fireworks and spit out sparks!:rolleyes:

THIS JUST IN : Irony in Action

Yeah. I still have the images of horribly scarred children burned (if you'll pardon the pun) into my brain.

Cajun Blackened Battered Children~ $7.99

Pico and ME;743531 wrote:

THIS JUST IN : Irony in Action

I saw that Pico. Weird huh?

You know what though? I keep seeing signs in people's yards about being sure to keep an eye out for motorcycle riders. I completely agree with this, and I do look for them and I'm very careful around them. We all have to share the road.

But see, the thing is, out of the last I don't know how many motorcycle accidents with injuries or fatalities that I've heard about, almost all have involved just that motorcycle, with the exception of some where the motorcycle rider was at fault in a two vehicle collision.

I'll look for you, will you look for me?

I found myself on the NJ Turnpike a week ago. It was a beautiful day, and there were a lot of motorcycles on the road. Most of them were speeding, and a small percentage of them were speeding so much as to be almost unbelievable. I was doing 70 at one point in the middle lane and was passed by one guy who had been in the left lane, he swooped across behind me over into the right lane, and passed me on the right, and swooped back across into the left lane. It was honestly like I was standing still and it happened so fast he was out of sight ahead of me in 2-3 seconds. I estimate he was going about 110 to 120 in fairly heavy traffic.

He seemed to be in control of the bike, but honestly, at that speed, and with that kind of riding, it's only a matter of time before you make a minor miscalculation and lose it.

I was really hoping he wouldn't lose it, because with him in front of me now, it would only cause a traffic jam and slow me down.

Pico and ME;743531 wrote:

THIS JUST IN : Irony in Action

If the kill themselves, I don't mind so much. I mind when they are damaged so badly that the government pays for their care or subsidizes their income.

DanaC wrote:

Yeah. I still have the images of horribly scarred children burned (if you'll pardon the pun) into my brain.

In my junior high school, they showed us pictures of people with STDs instead.

Spexxvet;743545 wrote:

If the kill themselves, I don't mind so much. I mind when they are damaged so badly that the government pays for their care or subsidizes their income.

Uh-huh.
Same with maimed/ disabled kids.
If their parents didn't bother with firework safety, road-crossing rules, swimming lessons et al, the fuckers deserve to live with untreated pain.

I think kids have to wear helmets on mopeds and such. The law protects them from stupid parents, in this case.

My cousins & their friends shot bottle rockets AT each other all the time as teens. They literally had fights like kids who play paintball nowadays.

Years back I whiled away a few dull hours browsing the Darwin Awards website.

The phrases "home made fireworks" and "home made explosives" probably came up more than any other. Except maybe "hold my beer".

zippyt;743472 wrote:

I was allowed to lite fire works young ,
then when I got older was given Whole grosses of bottle rockets and told to have fun ,
But this from the Mom who used to shoot at us with Roman candles

And yet you turned out just fine...:right:

Pico and ME;743531 wrote:

THIS JUST IN : Irony in Action

I saw that story...hate to say it, but, I larfed. And I don't like helmet laws.

:D

Ima go run with a sharp stick.

Clodfobble;743573 wrote:

In my junior high school, they showed us pictures of people with STDs instead.

We were warned off masturbation:

?????

my bad for hotlinking lazyness

Dangers of Masturbation, once again:

Don't make 'em like they used to.