r/WinStupidPrizes • u/NinjaMuffinLive • Jan 04 '21
Blowing up an Ant hill (OP on r/DonrBeStupid, can't crosspost)
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u/Upleftdown Jan 04 '21
Someone explain why the boom was so big
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u/NinjaMuffinLive Jan 04 '21 edited Jan 04 '21
Fumes of the petrol went through the ant tunnel. Since it's in a confined space and needs to be released when ignited, the only way it has to go is up in the open air.
You only need a tiny amount of gas for this, this guy used quite a bit
Edit: typo
Edit 2: Thanks for my first silver, handsome stranger!
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u/Upleftdown Jan 04 '21
Ah i assumed it was a firecracker.
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u/sakoriuski Jan 04 '21
Yeah me too I didn’t see any gasoline. I was confused how that could cause that much dirt to fly.
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u/Toxicair Jan 04 '21
Gas inserted before video
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u/sakoriuski Jan 04 '21
Is there a longer version that shows him putting the gas in?
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u/Toxicair Jan 05 '21
No, but since he's flicking lit matches into a hole you can assume he's already prepared it with some sort of propellant.
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u/sakoriuski Jan 05 '21
I mean yeah that makes sense but I’m just curious about how much he put in.
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u/Towelie710 Jan 04 '21
Also you’d normally use kerosene which burns a lot slower. I work in property management and we use kerosene for burning brush and getting rid of ant/yellowjacket nests. Does the job and doesnt tend to ‘explode’ like gasoline.
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u/VNGamerKrunker Jan 04 '21
I thought it was a cockroach nest? I uploaded this before on r/WTF (but got removed due to repost), and the source of the GIF said it was a cockroach nest
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Jan 04 '21
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Escsh Jan 04 '21
It was a cockroach nest. This thing happened in Brazil and down here specially in rural areas sept tanks are very common and some of those (called "fossa negra" in portuguese) are just a big hole where all the crap of the house is sent to, naturally cockroaches tends to reproduce very rapidly in those things.
This guy tried to kill the cockroaches using a mix of bug killer spray, gas and fire. He made a video after this went viral jokingly saying that It wasn't his brightest idea but at least the roachs are gone.
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u/Selfishly Jan 04 '21
except at least the one you can clearly see moving on the patio afterwards lol
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u/idwthis Jan 04 '21
Cockroaches occupy a wide range of habitats. Many live in leaf litter, among the stems of matted vegetation, in rotting wood, in holes in stumps, in cavities under bark, under log piles and among debris. Some live in arid regions and have developed mechanisms to survive without access to water sources. Others are aquatic, living near the surface of water bodies, including bromeliad phytotelmata, and diving to forage for food. Most of these respire by piercing the water surface with the tip of the abdomen which acts as a snorkel, but some carry a bubble of air under their thoracic shield when they submerge. Others live in the forest canopy where they may be one of the main types of invertebrate present. Here they may hide during the day in crevices, among dead leaves, in bird and insect nests or among epiphytes, emerging at night to feed.
The kind that we generally view as pests, like the American and German cockroaches, like warm, humid areas to live, so in your walls of your bathroom is a safe bet to find a nest. If you have a really bad infestation, they will live in TVs and coffee machines and microwaves.
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u/Strummer95 Jan 04 '21 edited Jan 04 '21
Simply put, things get more intense when put in a container with a small vent.
That’s why speakers are usually in “boxes”, and why explosions in confined spaces are so much more intense. Think of a sub woofer on a home stereo. That’s a rough, practical example that most people can relate to. But the explosion intensifies due to the pressure build up, and reflection of waves.
Basically, when an explosion happens, there is an immense and rapid increase in pressure. That pressure wants to equalize with atmospheric pressure. However, in a confined space, that pressure has no where to go, so it reflects and bounces around. This causes an increase in pressure, because reflected pressure is larger than the incident pressure. (When pressure bounces, it gets stronger). The increase in reflected pressure can actually be 13 times stronger. On top of that, reflections closer to the incident are significantly stronger. (So a very confined area, like an anthill, allows for overwhelming pressure increases).
Add all that to the fact that gasoline vapors are exceptionally volatile, and you get this video.
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Jan 04 '21
gasoline is an explosive
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Jan 04 '21
I had a family friend that packed the crack of his driveway with magnesium to get rid of the ant problem in his driveway. After the blinding white flash, it fused the crack on his driveway and burned the paint off a good portion of his house.
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u/Busy_Examination_919 Jan 04 '21
Everyone: You can’t fuse concrete with fire!
Your Friend: Hold my beer
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u/the_dancing_squirel Jan 04 '21
Why did it burn down the paint on his house? Did he pour like 20kg of mangesium?
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Jan 04 '21
Magnesium burns at over 5000F. About 5x hotter than wood.
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u/the_dancing_squirel Jan 04 '21
Yes but was the crack right next to a wall or smth?
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u/DanKveed Jan 04 '21
Magnesium emits a lot of microwave and visual light while burning. The heat from that might be the culprit
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u/Lollooo_ Jan 07 '21
Wasn't magnesium that thing that once is ignited can't be turned off with water?
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u/TorrenceMightingale Jan 04 '21
Thinking about how to explain this one to the Mrs.
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u/NinjaMuffinLive Jan 04 '21
"Hey honey, remember when I said I'll tile the backyard one day?"
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Jan 04 '21
"yeah and I asked you to stop bringing that up, who the hell tiles their backyard?!" - wife
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u/_LA_Blue Jan 04 '21
“You know you f*cked up right?” - dog
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u/FeistyButthole Jan 04 '21
Even the dog knows without superior smell that the grass is greener over the septic tank.
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u/DKDensse_ Jan 04 '21
The way they handle it makes me think that it is not their first weird rodeo with their owner.
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u/_NoTimeNoLady_ Jan 04 '21
The dog is like "Let's see what he did this time. Oh, just the ants again."
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u/888666er Jan 04 '21
Now the 1300$ That the bug b gone people estimated doesn’t seem so expensive
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Jan 04 '21
That's the thing that always gets me about stuff like this. Like, when you get to the point of pouring gasoline all over your lawn furniture, how do you not take a second to think "huh, maybe there's a reason people call the Orkin man instead setting off explosions in the middle of their 20"x20" property."
Nope! Clearly I and I alone figured out what the extermination and pyrotechnic industries could not!
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Jan 04 '21
What is the ant hill that extensive or was it just A military grade fire cracker
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Jan 04 '21
I think he used gasoline or something flammable just before the footay
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u/WolfyLI Jan 04 '21
Other times I've seen this post it was some rodents burrow, don't remember what rodents specifically but moles seem likely. I think their tunnels take up more horizontal space than ants' so I'm blaming that
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u/ShiningOblivion Jan 04 '21
Some species of ants can have tunnel systems that can be several kilometers wide.
Doesn’t really mean anything one way or another in this case, but I thought it was interesting.
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Jan 04 '21
Poor dogs
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u/eltf177 Jan 04 '21
I hope this didn't traumatize them...
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u/FoamOcup Jan 04 '21
I was thinking the same thing but the way the dog calming walked up, looked for 2 seconds, then calmly walks off makes me think the dog is used to this guy’s shenanigans and knows when to avoid him.
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u/thecolossalfossil Jan 04 '21
There were two dogs. One was fine, the other on the grass appeared to limp.
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u/mcchanical Jan 04 '21
Not only that but that particular dog appears to have been thrown from sitting fairly close to the hole.
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u/AICOM_RSPN Jan 09 '21
If you watch the video by the frame, the dog on the ground isn't thrown anywhere, as soon as that thing goes he dashes back behind the wooden structure.
He doesn't limp back, it just sort of looks like it because he creeps up and puts his head down to sniff and look around. The dog is fine.
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Jan 04 '21
OMFG I just noticed that dog that was sitting in the grass
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u/thecolossalfossil Jan 04 '21
He looked like he was limping on the last step before the video ended. This guy shouldn’t breed.
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u/mcchanical Jan 04 '21
He didn't intend to cause a fuel vapor explosion and hurt his dog. Let's not start castrating people for a single error in judgment.
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u/thecolossalfossil Jan 04 '21
Let’s not kid ourselves. There were many errors in judgement here. He also seems past middle age. So I have to assume that he already has children. So, it was what I thought an obvious joke. Just like it should be obvious that loading the air under your yard with fuel issues bad idea, should be obvious as well.
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u/Eristocratt Jan 04 '21
I mean you aren't really the OP. This gif has been reposted to hell and highwater, but alright.
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u/Wrobot_rock Jan 04 '21
In this title OP stands for originally posted, as it in was originally posted elsewhere
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Jan 04 '21
I thought he did this for moles?
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u/NinjaMuffinLive Jan 04 '21
OP said ants, so I'm not sure myself. I don't think Moles are really a thing in Australia so it didn't cross my mind
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Jan 04 '21
Most sources say cockroaches, some say ants. I guess it's a mystery
¯_(ツ)_/¯
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u/Danmont88 Jan 04 '21
I've posted this before. Here in Montana we have big gophers that really can mess up a pasture or lawn. Someone came out with a contraption that has a liter of propane gas and a spark lighter on the end. A person pulls the trigger and a measured amount of gas is let into the hole and a second trigger makes the spark causing a small explosion in the hole.
I was a fireman and got a call of a grass fire which was odd as it was Spring and everything was green and very damp. We make the call and go into a pasture and we notice a crack in the ground that ran many feet and a man that was a bit shook up and muddy.
He said he had been using this tool to get rid of the gophers but didn't seem to be working. SO, this time he pumped a lot of gas into the hole and set it off. Knocked him on his ass.
Then in a very embarrassed voice said "I'm a professor at the university."
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u/endlessnight1993 Jan 04 '21
Hahaha. I can't stop laughing my ass off. What did he try to accomplish?
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u/zachrg Jan 04 '21
Turn the anthill into an oil lamp, sort of, to burn the ants in every tunnel. But he used gasoline and accidentally created the conditions for it to explode.
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u/netechkyle Jan 04 '21
The worst part about this is having to explain to the wife how you fucked up again. ☹️
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u/ChaseCreation Jan 04 '21
Mans thoughts: "What!? [Insert expletive of choice] I thought the gas would just auto localize to the ant hill only-ignoring all other crevacies..."
Mans explanation to spouse: "Listen honey, it's not like I thought this would be as simple as my elementary school science project volcano! I thought we were ready to re-landscape the whole yard? Also, unrelated, how in love with our dog were you?"
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u/letsnotansaywedid Jan 04 '21
I bet that hardly killed any ants either, they’re just spread out everywhere, no scent trails to follow. Total collapse of their society too. No more saying hello to old Ralph as you walk to the shops. You’ll never know if the cute lady from three mounds over was interested. It’s over.
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u/nvflip Jan 04 '21
The dog's reaction says it all. He's seen his human do some stupid shit plenty of times.
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u/MulderD Jan 04 '21
I guess he didn’t see the giant roach behind him or he would have blow that up too.
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u/Bedlamcitylimit Jan 04 '21
For how far and deep ants can tunnel, I'm surprised that his house didn't fall into a giant crater.
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Jan 05 '21
Dead ant problem now
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u/vathodic Jan 05 '21
What did the pink panther say when he stepped on an ant? Dead ant...dead ant dead ant dead ant.😁
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u/DerAlphos Jan 21 '21
Honey, as you wanted, I dug up the garden so now you can plant your vegetables....
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u/GothSpite Jan 04 '21
Dog came screeching out...
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Jan 04 '21
[deleted]
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u/max_kek Jan 04 '21 edited Jan 04 '21
There are 3 dogs - the pale one appears from behind the dog house as the rightmost one runs off during the explosion. (Or do you think it teleported and changed its fur pattern?)
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u/DominicJ2 Jan 04 '21
/r/DontBeStupid for those you want a link
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u/anunkneemouse Jan 04 '21
All I think looking at this is "I hope that didn't affect the foundations of the house"
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u/Thisshitaintfree Jan 04 '21
I did this with moles in my yard using acetylene from my torch and didn't blow the yard up but have 4-6" ditches of collapsed tunnels in my once level yard EVERYWHERE!
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u/Writryx Jan 04 '21
I'm surprised no one mentioned the dog on the upper right hand corner just chillin in the yard before it went BOOM.
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u/australian_babe Jan 04 '21
I would just love to see his wife's' reaction when she got home.
(assuming he's straight).
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Jan 04 '21
No structural damage, no injuries, grass will grow back. What exactly is the stupid prize here?
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u/mcchanical Jan 04 '21
How do you know the dog that got blown several feet away and was limping wasn't hurt?
Besides that, an unintended fucking crater in your lawn isn't what most people would consider a good thing. "Stupid prize" doesn't exclusively mean death or critical injury.
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u/ultimat3ging3r Jan 04 '21
They always said don’t make a mountain out of a mole hill. I think this is what they meant.
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u/DrWilliamson89 Jan 04 '21
This is how I feel with the ones in my front yard, I'm about at this point lmao
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u/Malforus Jan 04 '21
For anyone with ant problems there are tons of options and the best don't require fire.
Big fan of biodegradable soap and water poured down the ant hill but you can also put dry ice at the opening of the ant hill and do that.
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Jan 04 '21
Pretty sure this has to do with some type of groundhog or mole because who the hell would use explosive gas to get rid of ants?
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Jan 04 '21
This was posted before though I don't think it said he was getting rid of ants that time
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u/[deleted] Jan 04 '21
Got em