Well I have a very very very healthy respect, fear really, for anything that can go BOOM!
Let's just say I learned the hard way that flammable and immflammable mean the same damn thing!
I took a part time job once at a little portable sawmilling outfit once, during my summer holdiday from a MacBlo sawmill (bizarre eh?), and the boss wanted us to burn up a large pile of trim ends.
Now after already learning the power of gas (and gas vapour) the hard way many years before, we soaked this large (and I do mean large..higher than a house large) down in gasoline. But this time, being wise to the world, I made a trail of gas away from the pile and we lit that on fire.
Just like in any action film, it worked well.
Too well.
The large pile of trim ends exploded, raining burning wood down everywhere. The boss was not impressed.
And since I'm in a verbose mood, I shall now tell the tale of my vapour learning experience.
As a young lad growing up in the farm, one of my many duties was in the fall to cut up all the brush along the driveway and pile it up (large pile...see above) for burning.
Since everything was a little wet, Dad told me to up to the tin shed (the place where we kept all the gas, dynamite, etc) and get the blue barrel full of used oil, and soak the burn pile with it.
So I did that, soaked that bugger down good I did. Of course I forgot to get matches, so I go and find them and return a little while later.
Well apparently this "used oil" barrel had a lot of gas in it as well. The match I had lit ignited the vapours that had been stewing while I was away, while I was probably around 10' away from it. The explosion knocked me back another 10', burned all the hair off my face (eyebrows, eyelashes etc..I was only about 14 or so), rattled the windows in the house (which was a good 100' away).
I was dazed, had a nice rosey glow, but otherwise okay. I promptly walked back to the house, and showered. I recall my Mom asking me what happened, because the smell of burnt hair immediately filled the house upon my entrance (and the whole window shaking thing), "nothing" was my response of course.
Then there was the time we bought our first propane BBQ and I was asked to light it................
