On Mon, 29 Nov 2021 17:59:29 +0000
RustyHinge <rusty.hinge@foobar.girolle.co.uk> wrote:

> I may have to tell you about the emptying of a short stretch of the
> River Roding one day...

A fiend of mine once emptied the village pond making a small
propane cylinder explode.

--
Steve O'Hara-Smith
Odds and Ends at http://www.sohara.org/

On 29-Nov-21 12:30, Chris Elvidge wrote:
> On 29/11/2021 12:21 pm, Thomas Prufer wrote:
>> On Sun, 28 Nov 2021 12:54:12 +0000, "Nicholas D. Richards"
>> <nicholas@salmiron.com> wrote:
>>
>>> In article <20211128103129.66d855e3260592f0085b85c7@eircom.net>, Ahem A
>>> Rivet's Shot <steveo@eircom.net>  on Sun, 28 Nov 2021 at 10:31:29 awoke
>>> Nicholas from his slumbers and wrote
>>>> On Sun, 28 Nov 2021 10:42:51 +0100
>>>>        It seems there are two things called spud guns. One is a
>>>> canon that
>>>> launches a whole potato the other is a toy gun that fires a small
>>>> pellet of
>>>> potato made by digging the end of the gun (or cap cartridge) into
>>>> the spud.
>>>>
>>>>        They came in cap fired versions that looked like a tiny revolver
>>>> and held a metal cartridge with the spud in one end and a cap (or
>>>> three) on
>>>> the other and air fired varieties like this (which seem to be the
>>>> only ones
>>>> made now):
>>>>
>>>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spud_gun
>>>>
>>>>        This looks like the cap based one I had when I was twelve:
>>>>
>>>> https://www.etsy.com/ie/listing/807238503/cap-gun-pistol-made-in-england-
>>>>
>>>> potato?ref=reviews
>>>>
>>>>        With two or three paper caps or a cut down plastic cap (the ones
>>>> that came in rings) behind it the spud pellet did sting.
>>>>
>>> Nice bang could be had with two largish bolts screwed into either side
>>> of a nut, Between them were place a 'number' of the paper caps. Screw
>>> hand tight and throw into the air landing on concrete. Certainly loader
>>> than you got out of pop gun.
>>
>> I has several of the "dig out a bit of spud, squeeze, pop out" ones.
>> One alone
>> is no good, need several for a battle...
>>
>> I also had little plastic finned bomb-shaped cap things: either place
>> plastic
>> cap on metal tip and toss. Or place one or more of the paper strip
>> caps under
>> the anvil. We almost always used the paper ones, as the plastic ones
>> were much
>> more expensive.
>>
>> <https://images.feuerwerk-forum.de/2018/01/346616_a04fdeb0bf773bec852599a5e75b4cec.jpeg>
>>
>>
>>
>> Thomas Prufer
>>
>
> I remember having both these toys, too. Much fun!
>
Thing I could never jbex out was, things like them would become a sudden
craze at school.
After a while the school would ban them from the playground & the craze
would go away (something else would crop up later to replace it).
Sometime a year or so later, the craze would start all over again.

--
Sam Plusnet

Ahem A Rivet's Shot <steveo@eircom.net> wrote:
> On 29 Nov 2021 15:33:26 GMT
> Maus <Greymaus@mail.com> wrote:
>
>> I must download and read some of his books. He was a good writer.
>
> Yes apart from his tendency to write essentially the same book many
> times (the eternal champion series gets a tad repetitive) - still can't
> blame a pro for doing what sells.
>

In my first (long) term at Uni, I bought one of his books every day. I
don’t recall ever finding that I’d run out of new titles to read,

Tim

--
Please don't feed the trolls

On 2021-11-29, Ahem A Rivet's Shot <steveo@eircom.net> wrote:
> On 29 Nov 2021 15:33:26 GMT
> Maus <Greymaus@mail.com> wrote:
>
>> I must download and read some of his books. He was a good writer.
>
> Yes apart from his tendency to write essentially the same book many
> times (the eternal champion series gets a tad repetitive) - still can't
> blame a pro for doing what sells.
>

They all do that.

--
greymausg@mail.com
That's not a mousehole!

On 2021-11-29, Tim+ <tim.downie@gmail.com> wrote:
> Ahem A Rivet's Shot <steveo@eircom.net> wrote:
>> On 29 Nov 2021 15:33:26 GMT
>> Maus <Greymaus@mail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> I must download and read some of his books. He was a good writer.
>>
>> Yes apart from his tendency to write essentially the same book many
>> times (the eternal champion series gets a tad repetitive) - still can't
>> blame a pro for doing what sells.
>>
>
> In my first (long) term at Uni, I bought one of his books every day. I
> don’t recall ever finding that I’d run out of new titles to read,
>
> Tim
>

Louis L'Amour did that as well (my favourite writer)

--
greymausg@mail.com
That's not a mousehole!

On 29 Nov 2021 19:56:21 GMT
Maus <Greymaus@mail.com> wrote:

> On 2021-11-29, Ahem A Rivet's Shot <steveo@eircom.net> wrote:
> > On 29 Nov 2021 15:33:26 GMT
> > Maus <Greymaus@mail.com> wrote:
> >
> >> I must download and read some of his books. He was a good writer.
> >
> > Yes apart from his tendency to write essentially the same book
> > many times (the eternal champion series gets a tad repetitive) - still
> > can't blame a pro for doing what sells.
>
> They all do that.

Most anyway - I always admired Spedding for her response to her
publisher wanting more of the same after her "Walk in the Dark" trilogy
(Alexander the Great thinly disguised as a lesbian). She said she'd done
that and didn't want to do it again - then hootered off to Peru to write
a bilingual novel in English and an obscure South American language I'd
never heard of and now can't remember the name. Wound up getting rescued
from jail there by her fan club (she was a bit fond of the marching powder).

--
Steve O'Hara-Smith
Odds and Ends at http://www.sohara.org/

In article <ZM9pJ.351796$xalc.142595@fx12.ams1>, Sam Plusnet
<not@home.com> on Mon, 29 Nov 2021 at 19:23:37 awoke Nicholas from his
slumbers and wrote
>On 29-Nov-21 12:30, Chris Elvidge wrote:
>> On 29/11/2021 12:21 pm, Thomas Prufer wrote:
>>> On Sun, 28 Nov 2021 12:54:12 +0000, "Nicholas D. Richards"
>>> <nicholas@salmiron.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> In article <20211128103129.66d855e3260592f0085b85c7@eircom.net>, Ahem A
>>>> Rivet's Shot <steveo@eircom.net>  on Sun, 28 Nov 2021 at 10:31:29 awoke
>>>> Nicholas from his slumbers and wrote
>>>>> On Sun, 28 Nov 2021 10:42:51 +0100
>>>>>        It seems there are two things called spud guns. One is a
>>>>> canon that
>>>>> launches a whole potato the other is a toy gun that fires a small
>>>>> pellet of
>>>>> potato made by digging the end of the gun (or cap cartridge) into
>>>>> the spud.
>>>>>
>>>>>        They came in cap fired versions that looked like a tiny revolver
>>>>> and held a metal cartridge with the spud in one end and a cap (or
>>>>> three) on
>>>>> the other and air fired varieties like this (which seem to be the
>>>>> only ones
>>>>> made now):
>>>>>
>>>>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spud_gun
>>>>>
>>>>>        This looks like the cap based one I had when I was twelve:
>>>>>
>>>>> https://www.etsy.com/ie/listing/807238503/cap-gun-pistol-made-in-england-
>>>>>
>>>>> potato?ref=reviews
>>>>>
>>>>>        With two or three paper caps or a cut down plastic cap (the ones
>>>>> that came in rings) behind it the spud pellet did sting.
>>>>>
>>>> Nice bang could be had with two largish bolts screwed into either side
>>>> of a nut, Between them were place a 'number' of the paper caps. Screw
>>>> hand tight and throw into the air landing on concrete. Certainly loader
>>>> than you got out of pop gun.
>>>
>>> I has several of the "dig out a bit of spud, squeeze, pop out" ones.
>>> One alone
>>> is no good, need several for a battle...
>>>
>>> I also had little plastic finned bomb-shaped cap things: either place
>>> plastic
>>> cap on metal tip and toss. Or place one or more of the paper strip
>>> caps under
>>> the anvil. We almost always used the paper ones, as the plastic ones
>>> were much
>>> more expensive.
>>>
>>> <https://images.feuerwerk-forum.de/2018/01/346616_a04fdeb0bf773bec852599a5e75
>b4cec.jpeg>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Thomas Prufer
>>>
>>
>> I remember having both these toys, too. Much fun!
>>
>Thing I could never jbex out was, things like them would become a sudden
>craze at school.
>After a while the school would ban them from the playground & the craze
>would go away (something else would crop up later to replace it).
>Sometime a year or so later, the craze would start all over again.
>
Ditto stink bombs. Horrible things though.
--
0sterc@tcher -

"Où sont les neiges d'antan?"

In article <slrnsq9sgd.3gl.Greymaus@dmaus.org>, Maus <Greymaus@mail.com>
on Mon, 29 Nov 2021 at 15:30:21 awoke Nicholas from his slumbers and
wrote
>On 2021-11-28, Nicholas D. Richards <nicholas@salmiron.com> wrote:
>> In article <20211128103129.66d855e3260592f0085b85c7@eircom.net>, Ahem A
>> Rivet's Shot <steveo@eircom.net> on Sun, 28 Nov 2021 at 10:31:29 awoke
>> Nicholas from his slumbers and wrote
>>>On Sun, 28 Nov 2021 10:42:51 +0100
>>>Thomas Prufer <prufer.public@mnet-online.de.invalid> wrote:
>>>
>>>> On Sat, 27 Nov 2021 18:11:38 +0000, Nick Odell
>>>> <nick@themusicworkshop.plus.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>
>> Nice bang could be had with two largish bolts screwed into either side
>> of a nut, Between them were place a 'number' of the paper caps. Screw
>> hand tight and throw into the air landing on concrete. Certainly loader
>> than you got out of pop gun.
>
>Oh, dear god, I had hoped that thing had been lost to memory. Incredible
>dangerous.
>
>
They may faded from memory. None of mine seem to have had any
inclination in that direction. Perhaps they teach the right(wrong)
chemistry at school?
--
0sterc@tcher -

"Où sont les neiges d'antan?"

On Mon, 29 Nov 2021 21:52:44 +0000
"Nicholas D. Richards" <nicholas@salmiron.com> wrote:

> In article <ZM9pJ.351796$xalc.142595@fx12.ams1>, Sam Plusnet

> >Thing I could never jbex out was, things like them would become a sudden
> >craze at school.
> >After a while the school would ban them from the playground & the craze
> >would go away (something else would crop up later to replace it).
> >Sometime a year or so later, the craze would start all over again.
> >
> Ditto stink bombs. Horrible things though.

Also itching powder (joke shop or rose hip hairs) nasty nasty stuff.

--
Steve O'Hara-Smith
Odds and Ends at http://www.sohara.org/

Ahem A Rivet's Shot said:
> On Mon, 29 Nov 2021 21:52:44 +0000
> "Nicholas D. Richards" <nicholas@salmiron.com> wrote:
>
>> In article <ZM9pJ.351796$xalc.142595@fx12.ams1>, Sam Plusnet
>
>> >Thing I could never jbex out was, things like them would become a sudden
>> >craze at school.
>> >After a while the school would ban them from the playground & the craze
>> >would go away (something else would crop up later to replace it).
>> >Sometime a year or so later, the craze would start all over again.
>> >
>> Ditto stink bombs. Horrible things though.
>
> Also itching powder (joke shop or rose hip hairs) nasty nasty stuff.

Hula hoops, Davy Crocket hats. Skipping for boys. Yoyos.

--
Richard Robinson
"The whole plan hinged upon the natural curiosity of potatoes" - S. Lem

My email address is at http://qualmograph.org.uk/contact.html

In article <20211129234041.a243a524592a7fe3e5d5a080@eircom.net>, Ahem A
Rivet's Shot <steveo@eircom.net> on Mon, 29 Nov 2021 at 23:40:41 awoke
Nicholas from his slumbers and wrote
>On Mon, 29 Nov 2021 21:52:44 +0000
>"Nicholas D. Richards" <nicholas@salmiron.com> wrote:
>
>> In article <ZM9pJ.351796$xalc.142595@fx12.ams1>, Sam Plusnet
>
>> >Thing I could never jbex out was, things like them would become a sudden
>> >craze at school.
>> >After a while the school would ban them from the playground & the craze
>> >would go away (something else would crop up later to replace it).
>> >Sometime a year or so later, the craze would start all over again.
>> >
>> Ditto stink bombs. Horrible things though.
>
>Also itching powder (joke shop or rose hip hairs) nasty nasty stuff.
>
On the other hand whoopee cushions and mucky pup. Not nasty
--
0sterc@tcher -

"Où sont les neiges d'antan?"

On 29/11/2021 23:40, Ahem A Rivet's Shot wrote:
> On Mon, 29 Nov 2021 21:52:44 +0000
> "Nicholas D. Richards" <nicholas@salmiron.com> wrote:
>
>> In article <ZM9pJ.351796$xalc.142595@fx12.ams1>, Sam Plusnet
>
>>> Thing I could never jbex out was, things like them would become a sudden
>>> craze at school.
>>> After a while the school would ban them from the playground & the craze
>>> would go away (something else would crop up later to replace it).
>>> Sometime a year or so later, the craze would start all over again.
>>>
>> Ditto stink bombs. Horrible things though.
>
> Also itching powder (joke shop or rose hip hairs) nasty nasty stuff.

hmmm. unforgets me of Ellisdons

--
Rusty Hinge
To err is human. To really foul things up requires a computer and the BOFH.

On Mon, 29 Nov 2021 21:58:40 +0000, "Nicholas D. Richards"
<nicholas@salmiron.com> wrote:

>They may faded from memory. None of mine seem to have had any
>inclination in that direction. Perhaps they teach the right(wrong)
>chemistry at school?

Eh. Read this.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_M._Klap%C3%B6tke

Works on better explosives that are also biodegradable and environmentally
sound, at the (well, one) University of Munich...

Thomas Prufer

On Tue, 30 Nov 2021 09:46:41 +0100, Thomas Prufer
<prufer.public@mnet-online.de.invalid> wrote:

>On Mon, 29 Nov 2021 21:58:40 +0000, "Nicholas D. Richards"
><nicholas@salmiron.com> wrote:
>
>>They may faded from memory. None of mine seem to have had any
>>inclination in that direction. Perhaps they teach the right(wrong)
>>chemistry at school?
>
>Eh. Read this.
>
>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_M._Klap%C3%B6tke
>
>Works on better explosives that are also biodegradable and environmentally
>sound, at the (well, one) University of Munich...
>
Oh. THAT University of Munich

Not the one that inexplicably disappeared in a puff of organic, vegan
and enviromentally-friendly smoke one day and nobody was quite sure
why?

Nick

On 29/11/2021 19:44, Tim+ wrote:
> Ahem A Rivet's Shot <steveo@eircom.net> wrote:
>> On 29 Nov 2021 15:33:26 GMT
>> Maus <Greymaus@mail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> I must download and read some of his books. He was a good writer.
>>
>> Yes apart from his tendency to write essentially the same book many
>> times (the eternal champion series gets a tad repetitive) - still can't
>> blame a pro for doing what sells.
>
> In my first (long) term at Uni, I bought one of his books every day. I
> don’t recall ever finding that I’d run out of new titles to read,

I think I have a couple of shelves-worth of his books upstairs. Must get
round to re-reading them sometime.

On 29/11/2021 12:21, Thomas Prufer wrote:
>
> I has several of the "dig out a bit of spud, squeeze, pop out" ones. One alone
> is no good, need several for a battle...

Sekiden gnus? I remember having one.

> I also had little plastic finned bomb-shaped cap things: either place plastic
> cap on metal tip and toss. Or place one or more of the paper strip caps under
> the anvil. We almost always used the paper ones, as the plastic ones were much
> more expensive.
>
> <https://images.feuerwerk-forum.de/2018/01/346616_a04fdeb0bf773bec852599a5e75b4cec.jpeg>

I had one of those too. Paper caps under anvil for me.

On 29/11/2021 17:01, Richard Robinson wrote:
> RustyHinge said:
>>
>> I made my bnag!s from first principles.
>
> Famously explosive things, them.

Scratch is a more useful material, rather less single-purpose.

On 29/11/2021 19:23, Sam Plusnet wrote:
>
> Thing I could never jbex out was, things like them would become a sudden
> craze at school.
> After a while the school would ban them from the playground & the craze
> would go away (something else would crop up later to replace it).
> Sometime a year or so later, the craze would start all over again.

Just remembered another mini-craze - Magnetops.

https://www.picclickimg.com/d/l400/pict/132038514782_/Vintage-1960s-Magnetop-Duncan-Yo-Yo-Spinning-Top.jpg

And clackers - banned from many schools. It's all good fun until
somebody loses an eye.

https://i0.wp.com/www.writeofthemiddle.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Clackers-FeatureImage.jpg

"Nicholas D. Richards" <nicholas@salmiron.com> wrote in
news:icbH$mAsuUphFADJ@salmiron.com:

> Ditto stink bombs. Horrible things though.

I managed to score a half-litre bottle of ammonium sulphide{1] from a
shop in Manchester. Made life rather unplesant for Prunts and teachers
for a while, until it was taken off me and disposed of somewhere. Into
the Irwell, I should imagine.

[1]it's sulfide now, but I refuse.
--
Peter
-----

In article <j0mrdvF5pekU1@mid.individual.net>, Mike Fleming
<mike@tauzero.co.uk> on Tue, 30 Nov 2021 at 14:39:58 awoke Nicholas
from his slumbers and wrote
>On 29/11/2021 19:23, Sam Plusnet wrote:
>>
>> Thing I could never jbex out was, things like them would become a sudden
>> craze at school.
>> After a while the school would ban them from the playground & the craze
>> would go away (something else would crop up later to replace it).
>> Sometime a year or so later, the craze would start all over again.
>
>Just remembered another mini-craze - Magnetops.
>
>https://www.picclickimg.com/d/l400/pict/132038514782_/Vintage-1960s-Magnetop-
>Duncan-Yo-Yo-Spinning-Top.jpg

Never saw one of those. Had one of these circa 1950 and frozen to death.

http://tinyurl.com/2p8fctx5

The hum used to drive my Mum mad until she stuffed it with one of my
Dad's hankies. Never worked after that.
>
>And clackers - banned from many schools. It's all good fun until
>somebody loses an eye.
>
>https://i0.wp.com/www.writeofthemiddle.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Clackers-
>FeatureImage.jpg

After my time and probably before my son's time. He could 'walk the dog'
though.

--
0sterc@tcher -

"Où sont les neiges d'antan?"

On 30/11/2021 15:09, Peter wrote:
> "Nicholas D. Richards" <nicholas@salmiron.com> wrote in
> news:icbH$mAsuUphFADJ@salmiron.com:
>
>> Ditto stink bombs. Horrible things though.
>
> I managed to score a half-litre bottle of ammonium sulphide{1] from a
> shop in Manchester. Made life rather unplesant for Prunts and teachers
> for a while, until it was taken off me and disposed of somewhere. Into
> the Irwell, I should imagine.
>
> [1]it's sulfide now, but I refuse.

And fosforus.

The leftpondians won't stop misspelling aluminium so I won't stop
spelling sulphur properly.

Mike Fleming said:
>>
> all good fun until
> somebody loses an eye.

Spinning off at another tangerine, I'd like to commend the Chris
Brookmyre novel of that name. Splendid fun (until ...), if you
enjoy pisstaking thrillers.

--
Richard Robinson
"The whole plan hinged upon the natural curiosity of potatoes" - S. Lem

My email address is at http://qualmograph.org.uk/contact.html

On Tue, 30 Nov 2021 15:09:15 -0000 (UTC)
Peter <myshed@prune.org.uk> wrote:

> [1]it's sulfide now, but I refuse.

but not rephuse in protest.

--
Steve O'Hara-Smith
Odds and Ends at http://www.sohara.org/

On Tue, 30 Nov 2021 14:34:00 +0000
Mike Fleming <mike@tauzero.co.uk> wrote:

> Sekiden gnus? I remember having one.

Not a name I know so I fwse'd - seems it's a make not a model they
made a lot of gnus most of which seem to be able to fire something and be
some variant on an airgnu. There were air powered and cap powered spud
gnus, only the air powered ones seem to remain.

--
Steve O'Hara-Smith
Odds and Ends at http://www.sohara.org/

On 30/11/2021 16:38, Mike Fleming wrote:
> On 30/11/2021 15:09, Peter wrote:
>> "Nicholas D. Richards" <nicholas@salmiron.com> wrote in
>> news:icbH$mAsuUphFADJ@salmiron.com:
>>
>>> Ditto stink bombs. Horrible things though.
>>
>> I managed to score a half-litre bottle of ammonium sulphide{1] from a
>> shop in Manchester. Made life rather unplesant for Prunts and teachers
>> for a while, until it was taken off me and disposed of somewhere. Into
>> the Irwell, I should imagine.
>>
>> [1]it's sulfide now, but I refuse.
>
> And fosforus.
>
> The leftpondians won't stop misspelling aluminium so I won't stop
> spelling sulphur properly.

The Leftpondians just didn't ad-just when the rest of the whirled added
the 'i' - the original speeling *was* aluminum, but the 'i' was added to
bring it into line with the others - sodium, lithium, barium,
unobtainium and aquarium.

--
Rusty Hinge
To err is human. To really foul things up requires a computer and the BOFH.