Sounds simlilar to gun shots

[Rokyudai]

I have had rocks in a fire explode (great scar by the way) that due to my proximity made me dive for cover.

+3 internetz points on the red caps. We used to take a pin and skid them across a row and create some shenaningens for sure!

 

[Navy_Guns]

red caps, pheh!

It's a wonder we didn't put an eye out, but...

Learning to shoot my great-aunt Dorothy's .22 rifle up on Grandpa's farm as a kid, we'd save all the empty brass. My older brother "borrowed" the box of Grandma's Blue Diamond "strike anywhere" matches from beside the gas stove in the kitchen. He discovered that if you cut the match tip off, drop it in an empty case, and crimp the end closed, it makes quite a loud bang when you smash it against a rock with a hammer.

Now that's recycling!

 

[subierex]

Went to a local museum with my sons scout troop a couple months ago. They had some science demonstrations in a lab about the size of a large 2-car garage. One of the experiments was production of hydrogen gas into a balloon, which they then proceeded to ignite. I was surprised when the museum employee had everyone plug their ears with their fingers before doing so.

Man was I surprised. Talk about a bunch of wide-eyed kids and parents. The concussion was neat.

 

[FuzzyBunny]

In my younger Boy Scout days we would dig holes for our fires. At night we would toss wood on the fire so we would have some coals in the morning for breakfast. The dirt from the hole was piled very nice next to it so we could smother the fire if things got out of hand.

This all works out great as the fire is easy to get going in the morning and you can eat and get about your day doing good deeds and all. It was always good to help out the new scouts learn to cut wood safely and all the other camp chores. Of course we passed this on to the new Scouts and made sure they put enough wood on the fire for in the morning.

Being the good Scout I was, I have no direct knowledge of who would terrorize the new scouts. But I have heard stories. From what the scoutmaster could determine there was mischief afoot (must have been outsiders). It seems that someone figured out that #303 size bean cans would self open very quickly when heated and still sealed. It is suspected that the lesson was shared with others. This led to some person or persons unknown taking bean cans and removing the labels. They would approach a campfire around oh dark thirty and procede to place 4 to 6 cans on thier side on the coals with the seam up. To make matters worse, all available dirt was then quickly placed on top and packed down. It seems when this is done and one can self opens it causes the others to do the same. This causes an energetic release of beans, coals, dirt and any other debris to be launched into the air with a very loud report. Of course this worries the new scouts in a manner they have never experienced in their 13 years on this earth. Many called out to god and mommy at the same time. Some cried. Others tried to run away from the gawdawful noise while still inside the tents. Those boys learned you cannot see where you are going with a tent wrapped around you.

See as this is a ongoing investigation now for 40 years I better not say any more.

Oh, I do hear tell it sounds alot like a gunshot.

 

[Aaryq]

I had a friend in high school who was detained by the police because he was suspected of a drive-by shooting at the elementry school...turns out he down-shifted in his pickup and it back-fired.

 

[Sniper X]

I was about 16 working at three gas stations one summer trying to make moeny to trick out two 1969 Chevelle SS's. I was at work one morning when a pretty hippie chick came in to fill her bike tyre on her 10 speed Schwinn Varsity, I know, good memory! This as about 1972....anyway, she had the Kerschnizzle on there for a few seconds and POW! I thought she had gone postal and shot at it! It sounded exactly like a .38spl going off.....

 

[Claude Clay]

kids practicing sticking a skate board landing off of 2 foot high rails. when they aint cracking themselves up, the sound of landing can be mistaken for a 22 pistol.

 

[1911 guy]

I once saw two little girls, probably ten years old or so, filling up a bike tire with a gas station air hose. Both hunkered down watching carefully as it inflated. BOOM! Both of them levitated straight up and, in true scooby-doo fashion, had their feet churning in mid-air.
Now I gotta admit, I laughed harder then than I had in a long time. Still brings a chuckle. Obviously not hurt (it wouldn't have been funny, then) but scared beyond belief.

I was out with my wife and kid last year and a transformer blew up across the street. Sounded like a shotgun or small pipe bomb. My turn to be scared for a minute. I'm sure it was funny to everybody else, though.

 

[BAT1]

Drop a board on concrete just right, it sounds like gun fire. I can turn up my bass guitar and hit the right notes, and make black helicopters circle the house. Must be the low notes.

 

[rswartsell]

About three years ago I was at work on the ninth floor of a building in downtown Portland, Oregon when a loud explosion was heard unsettling most of the occupants of the building. Man if that was a gunshot it must have been a BIG gun.

Come to find out that a city bus tire exploded, thank your stars you weren't kneeling by that one.

 

[elChupacabra!]

Here's one similar to the hydrogen balloons but that I haven't heard mentioned specifically.

In college, I had some friends who figured out that if you take a 20oz soda bottle, fill it about 3/8" or so (from the bottom) with tiny rolled up pieces of aluminum foil (roll each piece up maybe the size of an english pea or so), then pour in "The Works" brand liquid toilet bowl cleaner JUST ENOUGH to cover / drown the foil and screw the cap on, depending on mixture, you'd have between 45-90 seconds before the generated hydrogen gas would rupture the plastic bottle with a sound very much like a gunshot.

I learned all this when they set one on the doorstep of my dorm - scared the mess out of me, and when I opened the door to see what happened, just about every door around the parking lot opened to see, too!

As it turns out, I later learned that this device is called a "Hindenburg," after the dirigible, and creating them may be a federal felony and act of terrorism... good thing I never made any of them, and I certainly wouldn't repeat the experiment if I were any of you!

Also FYI other brands of toilet cleaner may work, this is just what they said they used... and as for the legal part, a former Sheriff's deputy told me that but I never looked into it any further, so if that's not right, please correct me (without crucifying me, thank you).

 

[Artiz]

It happened to me, I am a freerider and my tires get smashed alot, on time I was returning to my house, I was on the side of the road and BANG!, myrear tire exploded, the exact same noise that a handgun shot would do, I didn't realize it was my tire because my relfex was to jump off my bike and get on the ground, crouched, ready for action, and then I saw my tire, I said WOW!, that was a hell of a bang man!
People on the other side of the road were looking at me like if I was a retarded... lol.
I check my rear tire (not the front, it's dead-on my face) every minute or so.