Woman loses fingers after mistaking stick of dynamite for a candle.

[just Warren]

Don't sticks of dynamite have markings that tell you what they are?

It's a tragic story, certainly but there must have been some clue that these were not candles.

Luckily no one died.

[freakazoid]

Sticks of dynamite seem like an odd thing to leave behind when you move.
I wonder if these were actually some sort of large exploding firework.

[Brad Johnson]

Sticks of dynamite seem like an odd thing to leave behind when you move.
I wonder if these were actually some sort of large exploding firework.

This. Dynamite would need a blasting cap. Kinda.hard to "accidently" put the two together without it being rediculously apparent that it' not a candle.

Also... anything besides a candle being mistaken for a candle? I can't wrap my brain around it. The things that give a candle its "candleness" aren't things mimicked, even loosely, by a firework of any type I've.ever seen. I'm sorry the lady was injured but there's a huge part of me that's wondering about mandatory helmets and 24 hr adult supervision.

Brad

[Nick1911]

Other homes in the area were also searched as a precaution.

 

[Hawkmoon]

This. Dynamite would need a blasting cap. Kinda.hard to "accidently" put the two together without it being rediculously apparent that it' not a candle.

Also... anything besides a candle being mistaken for a candle? I can't wrap my brain around it. The things that give a candle its "candleness" aren't things mimicked, even loosely, by a firework of any type I've.ever seen. I'm sorry the lady was injured but there's a huge part of me that's wondering about mandatory helmets and 24 hr adult supervision.

Brad

Bridgeport, Connecticut. One of those model cities that saw its mayor convicted of taking payoffs and sent to prison, then elected him again when he got out.

https://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/11/05/ex-con-jail-seven-years-elected-mayor-bridgeport-ct/

Some Bridgeport voters said, “Ganim didn’t steal from us,” not understanding that the city policy he sold to contractors had indeed been theirs. That many Bridgeport voters considered Ganim a better mayor than his successors only emphasized the city’s decline and the comprehensive failure of Connecticut’s urban policy, which has done no more than feed the government class while worsening the poverty it supposedly was alleviating.

[HeroHog]

Power was out and it was dark. OK.
¼ Stick of dynamite. Say what?
Why did it have a fuse in it?
Did it actually have a blasting cap in it OR was it very old and the Nitroglycerine had started to seep out, but, again, WTF was it fused?

[MillCreek]

^^^So those Saturday morning Roadrunner cartoons lied to me?  The coyote cannot actually light a fuse to blow up the ACME dynamite?

[TommyGunn]

^^^So those Saturday morning Roadrunner cartoons lied to me?  The coyote cannot actually light a fuse to blow up the ACME dynamite?

Imagine .... a 70 year old cartoon fudged something to do with explosives! 

I mean,  if you can't trust ACME,  who CAN  you trust?

[BobR]

Could have been an M80, they are commonly referred to as a 1/4 stick of dynamite. At least the reals ones are, not so much the neutered M80s they sell commercially these days.

bob

[230RN]

"At least the real ones are, not so much the neutered M80s they sell commercially these days."

That may depend on the State.

Also, since it was left behind in the house, maybe it was the "good old stuff" from before it became illegal in that state.

Still, it sure seems odd to mix up dynamite sticks with candles.

"Other homes in the area were also searched as a precaution."

By permission?  Seems like that sucked if not.  By you, this is probable cause?

"Although it is illegal to possess dynamite, fireworks or firecrackers in Connecticut, charges are not expected to be file [sic] since the family had no prior knowledge that they were in the possession of explosive devices."

That's funny, because when I lived in New York, we used to make "Fireworks Runs" to Connecticut to buy the "Good Stuff" in fireworks.  (1950s, early 60s)  Connecticut was a "Free State" back then.

[Ben]

Could have been an M80, they are commonly referred to as a 1/4 stick of dynamite. At least the reals ones are, not so much the neutered M80s they sell commercially these days.

bob

Maybe they are made in different configurations, but the M80s I remember as a kid, that everyone smuggled up from Tijuana, had the fuse in the middle of the stick, versus on the end.

[freakazoid]

Maybe they are made in different configurations, but the M80s I remember as a kid, that everyone smuggled up from Tijuana, had the fuse in the middle of the stick, versus on the end.

Wikipedia says that too.

[MikeB]

M-80’s,  Cherry Bombs and so called Quarter Sticks were originally banned in the 60’s by the CPSC. Then the ATF followed up with a regulation in the 70’s. Anything newer is just borrowing the name so to speak. In this case I suppose it could really be an original Qurter Stick or just something being called that.

[Ben]

Wikipedia says that too.

I just wikied for the heck of it, and here's one article that shows both what it calls a "1/4 stick" and another it calls an "M-80". I could almost kinda sorta see someone not informed mistaking one for a candle of some sort. The fuse should really give it away, but...

http://www.wikiwand.com/en/Quarter_stick




This is the M-80 I remember:

[230RN]

I don't recall M-80s when I was a kid, just "Cherry Bombs," spherical red balls about an inch in diameter.

So I looked them up.  The article gives some additional data as to banning, composition, and composition quantities:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherry_bomb

And, as usual, the Wiki warning:

This article appears to contain trivial, minor, or unrelated references to popular culture. Please reorganize this content to explain the subject's impact on popular culture, using references to reliable sources, rather than simply listing appearances. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2017)

usually leads into the most interesting and colorful parts of Wiki articles.  Teaser: "It is estimated that over the years, he caused around US$500,000 of damage to hotel toilets..."

I always found that part of Wiki protocol amusing.  Sort of like banning a movie or a book.  Makes you really want to read or see it.

Maybe I could put some colorful stuff in there that we kids used to do with cherry bombs.

Wait, wait. Does the statute of limitations run from the date of the crime, or from the discovery of a crime?

Hmmmm....

Terry, 230RN