Discussion
“According to the Detroit Fire Department, an old bottle filled with crystallized picric acid was found over the weekend inside John K. King Used and Rare Books on Lafayette Boulevard near the Lodge Freeway.
“Picric acid is a colorless to yellow crystalline solid. It can be highly explosive when dry.
“Multiple streets in the area were closed off as fire crews investigated the scene. Detroit police’s bomb squad responded to the scene to remove the bottle.”
“The clerk said she noticed a bottle she suspected contained crystallized picric acid while cleaning over the weekend. Given the chemical's potential instability, she placed it outside over the weekend. The container was part of a collection of antiques that came to the shop, she told authorities.”
https://www.cbsnews.com/detroit/news/suspected-picric-acid-john-king-bookstore/
“Within minutes the flames detonated the picric acid. A massive explosion was felt as far away as Sydney, Nova Scotia, 200 miles to the northeast. In Halifax the blast knocked people off their feet, shattered windows, and shot shrapnel into the terrified crowds. Within moments a 52-foot tidal wave swept across three city blocks and washed over Halifax’s Richmond neighborhood. Everything within a 1.5-mile radius was destroyed or damaged. Approximately 1,600 people died instantly, with 300 more succumbing later. An estimated 9,000 people were injured, while more than 25,000 were left homeless—roughly half the city.”
https://www.sciencehistory.org/stories/magazine/picric-acids-volatile-history/
Install bonfire.cafe
Get the full app experience
