Dry ice is da bomb
Thursday, March 1, 2012 "Dad, can you buy me some dry ice?"
I blame mobile Twitter for distracting me just enough so that I process the literal aspects of requests, but never their implications until we're halfway committed to them. In this case, in a car on the way to the supermarket.
"Wait. Dry ice is dangerous. What are you planning on doing with it?"
"Othman is going to teach me how to make dry ice bombs."
Othman is our neighbor, and he's a really good kid, and Fury doesn't get to see him all that much because they go to different schools andohmygodBOMBS. Sure glad I caught that one before it got out of control.
"So can I? I need three pounds."
"That sounds dangerous. I will only get you two pounds." Look, we can't always be their best friends when we're looking out for their safety.
We pick up the dry ice and head back home. By the time we pull into the driveway, Othman has already set up what can only be described as a mobile command center. Unless you're a less family-friendly blogger, in which case you'd describe it as something akin to a mobile meth lab.
"Safety first, Fury." I hand him a pair of dishwashing gloves and the face shield from my Dexter costume. Then they get to work. To make dry ice bombs, you need to first chip the dry ice into small pieces.
Then, you drop some of those pieces into warm water, because it's fun and looks wicked cool.
Next, you fill a small bottle halfway with water and dump dry ice chunks into it.
Replace the cap, wait a few seconds, then...
KABOOOOOOOOOM!
I never cuss in front of the kids, but when that bomb went off and rattled everyone's windows within a 300-foot radius? That deserved one. And that's probably what the neighbors peeking out their windows said, too. I'm not kidding about the rattling windows. There are few things in life that exceeded my expectations quite like this dry ice bomb (the breakfast soufflés at Panera Bread are one - if you've never had one, get one now. They're better than this post will ever be). Decibel-wise, the explosion was along the lines of an M-80. And from the looks of what was left of the bottle, it was probably just as powerful. I told them to be careful and if the cops came, just to play dumb. Then I went back inside.
Every few explosions, I'd peek outside to make sure I wasn't going to have to do any tourniqueting or anything. When they ran out of bottles, they moved onto mini-bombs. You know those pods that the trinkets from the supermarket vending machines come in?
Well, they explode quicker than water bottles.
He didn't need that pinky anyway.
Satisfied that the boys pretty much knew what they were doing, I went back inside. Of course, every time I heard a bang I listened carefully to make sure it was followed by laughter, not agony. After about an hour, the boys came back to the house, wet but intact. Fury handed me what was left of the gloves, and I heaved a sigh of relief, knowing that they were now engaging in a much more appropriate activity: a little Call of Duty - Modern Warfare 3.
Reader Comments (25)
Oh wow! This is something I didn't know about. A new experiment for me and my boys this weekend. Wee!
You, are seriously, the coolest dad on the block.
Is dry ice the gatway bomb?
Gah! How do you handle it!? I'm so not looking forward to my son getting to that age! (By the way, can you find instructions for this particular educational activity online? Just asking....) ;)
I love that you let them blow things up. You are so free range you could be called Organic.
BUT. Where are the safety glasses on that other kid? My heart. Oh my heart.
Um, so can you get dry ice at any grocery store?
I'm asking for a friend,
Now I want some dry ice. Have a blast in austin.
This. Is. Epic. Now, I have to go try this in a secluded corner in my neighborhood, and hopefully not get sued.
Oh yes, dry ice is definitely da bomb! I'm actually kinda surprised you didn't know about this already! When I occasionally get a package with dry ice I always save it in the freezer for my husband... because yes, this is exactly what he does with it. Sometimes at home, sometimes he takes it to school and does it with his students. Oh, and I let my boys play with it (with spoons and direct supervision) in the sink with a bit of warm water! :)
i love that one of your commenters signed themselves as ilovebombs. and what tara said.
bomb on, fury!
And one day, if we're all very lucky, his *other* besties will teach him how to make blood bombs. World? OURS.
This is great! My son's not quite there yet with the bomb making but I'm sure we'll get there.
Funny, I'll echo what Tracey said because it's all I could think about during the experiment. Where's is the other kid's safety equipment? LOL.
And for Koreen, if you want the online directions just type "bombs for kids" into google. I'm sure that won't be tracked or anything ;)
Great experiment BD!!
Chris
Oh man that looks fun. My son is still a toddler, I can't wait until he's old enough to do cool stuff like that with :-)
I love this! I live in California where parents worry about feeding their kids gluten. Dry ice bombs? The cops would show up and I'd go to prison! Glad to hear that there were no injuries. As a side-note, dry ice bombs can throw shrapnel at roughly the speed of a 45 cal bullet, so be very careful with those. Still, kudos for letting the kids experiment and learn!
I fear when my boys will want to play with dry ice. I know the day is coming.
Yeah, I think oiur boys would be the very best of friends...
Lol! Though I never used water in my dry ice bombs (then again, I didn't do this in my childhood nor did I ever make more than like 3 at a time; who am I to argue with Fury, who's already got so much more experience than me??)
The post made me smile the whole way through. I used to teach science to first and second graders. This stuff is so much fun. It will be interesting, though, to see what kind of stuff you do when Lessi gets to be this age... Barbie Bombs?
Best. Dad. Ever.
So glad I have girls. The most dangerous things they play with is each other's emotions.
I take that back. Blowing up stuff is so totally more satisfying and less destructive.
Does Othman go to Hogwarts Cali? Because damn. They don't teach that stuff in our schools.
This is excellent! An awesome experiment for me and my son. Destruction at its BEST! Thanks for sharing.
Awesome! And I don't think this kind of fun is just for boys... I know one of my two daughters would LOVE it! Thanks, cool dad, for helping me come up with ideas to also be a cool dad. :-)
That sounds awesome! looks like they had a lot of fun. Where do you buy dry ice, I have to try that sometime, my girls will just watch though. LOL
Dry ice=fun
Panera souffles = funner
Wicked Awesome! I feel such a loser for not knowing about the bombs. We did however place dry ice in every toilet in my grandparent's home. Just occurred to me how rich they were, I recall about 8 bathrooms.