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May 02, 2008
Cannonball Express
...to Heaven's Gate, unfortunately.
Civil War Buff Killed By 19th Century Cannonball
Collector Sam White Was Restoring Cannonball When It Exploded...But in February, White's hobby cost him his life: A cannonball he was restoring exploded, killing him in his driveway.
More than 140 years after Lee surrendered to Grant, the cannonball was still powerful enough to send a chunk of shrapnel through the front porch of a house a quarter-mile from White's home in this leafy Richmond suburb.
...White estimated he had worked on about 1,600 shells for collectors and museums. On the day he died, he had 18 cannonballs lined up in his driveway to restore.
Note to self: when told to "put that thing back"...do it.
Posted by tree hugging sister at May 2, 2008 05:25 PM
Comments
This proves the EOD adage of "There ain't no such thing as a dud warhead."
Posted by: The_Real_JeffS at May 2, 2008 06:57 PM
He was grinding it with a power tool. Who would have thought that sparks could be a bad thing?
Posted by: Mr. Bingley at May 3, 2008 09:41 AM
Yeah, sparks, black powder, hardly a problem, huh?
Posted by: The_Real_JeffS at May 3, 2008 11:12 PM
I see a Darwin award in his future...
Posted by: John at May 4, 2008 07:43 AM