Ukrainian student dies from exploding chewing gum

Ukrainian student dies from exploding chewing gum:


I...uh...what?

PB

What an odd story. And who has explosive material on their dorm room desk (other than their mates socks).

ahhh the beginnings of a good urban legend.

Somehow I think this an apocryphal story ..... kinda like the alligators in the NYC's sewers.

College students don't just have explosives lying around in open containers in their rooms. "Oops...dipped my gum in the explosive by accident...KABOOM."

It's just ridiculous.

And today's strangest story, so far.

don't EVEN get me started on exploding tampons and eyeliner . . . it's practically an epidemic.

:hide:

exploding tampon imagery doesn't go away...it lingers.

that are killing off innocent teenagers too tempted by carnal desires to just "say no"

:crazy:

It's an entirely normal food flavoring. Chemistry students do that sort of thing all the time...though mixing up the dip cups in this case is likely to make people more careful.

It's the parents I feel sorry for. There's no to blame for the fact that your offspring is an idiot.

Who hasn't made that mistake?

of some highly explosive and very very easily detonated crystals, that look just like citric acid; puts the explosive on his desk beside his citric acid; accidentally dips his gum into the explosive; and chaws down. The explosive is so powerful and so easily detonated that chewing on it the few crystals stuck to his gum unleashes an explosion that fatally blows off his jaw. The blast wave from this explosion miraculously has no effect whatsoever on the remaining quarter pound of highly explosive and very very easily detonated crystals sitting right there on the desk

Student killed by exploding chewing gum
A student in Ukraine died after his jaw was blown off reportedly by exploding chewing gum.
Published: 11:20AM GMT 09 Dec 2009
The 25-year-old chemistry student, who has not been named by police, was working at his parents' home in Konotop when relatives heard a "loud pop". They rushed to his room and discovered his body ... The Russian news agency Ria Novosti said forensic tests found the chewing gum was covered with an unidentified chemical substance ... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/ukraine/6768473/Student-killed-by-exploding-chewing-gum.html

Exploding Chewing Gum Kills Student
The Ukrainian Man Had a Habit of Dipping Gum in Citric Acid
By ALEXANDER MARQUARDT
MOSCOW, Dec. 9, 2009
... He was working on his home computer Saturday night in the town of Konotop when his mother heard the sound of the explosion, according to authorities. She turned around to find Vladimir, 25, on the floor with his face bleeding and his jaw blown off ... http://www.abcnews.go.com/International/chewing-gum-explodes-killing-student-ukraine/story?id=9290557

Chemist dies from self-made “chewing bomb”
Published 10 December, 2009, 11:48
... Vladimir Likhonos, 25, was at home in his room when relatives heard a quiet pop. When his brother Rostislav went to check, he saw a horrible picture: Vladimir, still reclined in his chair, was covered with blood, his lower jaw was missing, and what was left of his face was hideously disfigured ... http://rt.com/Top_News/2009-12-10/chemist-dies-chewing-bomb.html

Police: Ukrainian chemistry student blows off his own face with explosive chewing gum, dies
By Simon Shuster (CP) – 8 hours ago
Vladimir Likhonos, a student at a regional branch of the Kyiv Polytechnical Institute, is thought to have accidentally dipped his chewing gum into explosives he was using for his studies, police spokeswoman Elvira Biganova told The Associated Press ... On the table where Likhonos had been working police found about 3.5 ounces (100 grams) of the suspected explosive - a powder that resembles citric acid but has yet to be identified, she said. "Anybody could have mixed them up," Biganova said ... http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5iMLMk__aX7ynMe7cpyJYZFoMGk2A

Tom Phillips - 10th December, 2009
Exploding chewing gum kills student
... It is thought that the student, who has not been named, had a habit of dipping his chewing gum into powdered citric acid - and investigators believe that he may have mistakenly dipped the gum into the wrong substance, as the two powders appeared very similar, leading to the deadly explosion. 'Anybody could have mixed them up,' said police spokeswoman Elvira Biganova ... http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/805749-exploding-chewing-gum-kills-student

Exploding Chewing Gum Blows Off College Student's Jaw
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
... Local police feared the substance might explode if they sent it to Kiev for analysis, so experts from the capital have been summoned to Konotop ... http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2009/12/ukrainian-student-dies-from-exploding-chewing-gum/1?csp=34

Ukrainian student killed by exploding chewing gum
... Although the local forensic department does not have the necessary equipment to identify the substance, it refused to send it to the capital, Kiev, over fears that it might explode during transportation. Forensic experts from Kiev are expected in Konotop on Wednesday ... http://en.rian.ru/strange/20091208/157160984.html

All I have is post-its and paper clips.