Exploding Gum Kills Ukranian Student Chemical accident?

[ghost of delete key 0]

As reported through Yahoo! by Sky News - https://uk.news.yahoo.com/

Apparently, this individual liked to dip his gum in citric acid. Nearby the mess, another substance believed to be an explosive was found. The student's jaw was blown off.

Now of course this is an actual news story, but somehow, something doesn't seem right.

This was a chemistry student. You might think that someone intelligent enough to get into a university would be smart enough not to mix up his chemicals? Something doesn't add up here.

Could this truly be an accident, or do you think this guy found a novel way to off himself and become "an hero" as they say in the 'chans?

Whats' your view?

[Ridwan sameer 0]

According to the Article, the boy was on teh computer, so maybe he wasnt concentrating and je just dipped it i the wrong oneBut WHY was the Explosive there is the question on my mind

[anwiii 17]

ofcourse it's an accident. i mean, who dips their gum in citric acid anyway? sounds like the guy was not all there in the first place and that's why the substance believed to be an explosive was there next to it. there is more to this story than the article is stating....such as, how did the officers know he has the habit of dipping his gum in citric acid and if his jaw was blown open, then how do they know he was chewing gum?. the article stated that hios family was nearby but how would his family end up doing this? forcing gum in his mouth? the explosion would go off next to them and they had a potential of being injured. no. this was definately an accident, but the article is being very vague in the facts.it also sounds to me that this guy was possibly trying to invent something and it backfired on him because he wasn't as cautious as he should have been. exploding gum would be neat if it didn't blow your face open or knock out any teeth or hurt you for that matter.i'm a dummy in this area, but i am wondering what chemical mixed with citric acid and saliva would explode in your mouth? the police seemed to be worried about trasporting the stuff so maybe it didn't need to be mixed with anything else to explode. what the heck could this chemical or chemical been?

Edited December 10, 2009 by anwiii (see edit history)

[shadowx 0]

Nitroglycerine could explode with very little energy input from a bit of heat, a sharp jolt, the tiniest of sparks etc... And glycerin is a fairly common chemical i think and the nitro bit is just nitrogen i would imagine...Still, if you are concocting Nitroglycerine in your bedroom these things are bound to happen!

[Ridwan sameer 0]

ofcourse it's an accident. i mean, who dips their gum in citric acid anyway? sounds like the guy was not all there in the first place and that's why the substance believed to be an explosive was there next to it. there is more to this story than the article is stating....such as, how did the officers know he has the habit of dipping his gum in citric acid and if his jaw was blown open, then how do they know he was chewing gum?. the article stated that hios family was nearby but how would his family end up doing this? forcing gum in his mouth? the explosion would go off next to them and they had a potential of being injured. no. this was definately an accident, but the article is being very vague in the facts.
it also sounds to me that this guy was possibly trying to invent something and it backfired on him because he wasn't as cautious as he should have been. exploding gum would be neat if it didn't blow your face open or knock out any teeth or hurt you for that matter.

i'm a dummy in this area, but i am wondering what chemical mixed with citric acid and saliva would explode in your mouth? the police seemed to be worried about trasporting the stuff so maybe it didn't need to be mixed with anything else to explode. what the heck could this chemical or chemical been?

The part where he Dips his Gum in nitric Acid is possibly true, yes it isnt that much of a common act but some people have different likes, maybe it tastes good? but i for one am not going to try it

ANd yes you haeva very valid point there, how do we know he actually dipped the gum into that? it oculd be a coincidence that he was working on something and It blew up

Thing is, how did the Area of destruction only appear around his mouth? i.e his jaw got most of the effect

Also teh article stated that the family heard a noise and came, therefore they were in another room maybe?.

What if, just what if, he was trying to develop a new type of fum, some kind of popping gum, and it backfired? maybe thats why e was testing out teh Citric acid

Im not sure but it is possible

[princeofvegas 0]

OK this was a very interesting topic.. lol. However it just doesnt make sense to me. If it was some kind of explosive it would have needed an ignition point. I do not see how just putting it into your mouth would cause an explosion big enough to kill you.

[Ridwan sameer 0]

YOu have to understandWhat if this "unkown" substance reacted with saliva? i think that might be its ignitionBut read my above post, it could be anything actuallyIts a bit Funny aactually, how something could "BLOW" his jaw off, ill understand burning through acid but BLOW? and that too why was it next to him, what did he plan to do with that anyway?

[sheepdog 10]

You might think that someone intelligent enough to get into a university would be smart enough not to mix up his chemicals? Something doesn't add up here.

First off, just making it to college does not guarantee intelligent life. Some years back in Springfield Mo, they had to spend over $100,000 of the tax payers money to build a fence down the middle of National St. because the kids at the college kept getting run over trying to cross the street by Jay walking. You would think by the time somebody got to that age they would know how to cross the street, but that was not the case.

But for sure, something does not add up here. I suspect there are any number of things that one could bit into that would cause an explosion, I just don't see quite how they could get into a bit of chewing gum, and also, as someone else mentioned, how did they even know he was chewing gum if his jaw was blown off? Weird.

[anwiii 17]

really? why do you think it's funny that someones face got blown away

Its a bit Funny aactually, how something could "BLOW" his jaw off

[Ridwan sameer 0]

I mean Funny as in Fishy and suspiciousFOr sucha young boy to be tempering with such dangerous chemicalsAtleast teh parents should hae known about any purchase of chemicalsI dont mean hilariously funny FYI

[ghost of delete key 0]

The part where he Dips his Gum in nitric Acid is possibly true, yes it isnt that much of a common act but some people have different likes, maybe it tastes good? but i for one am not going to try it

Erm...

 

CITRIC acid. Nowhere did it say anything about Nitric acid.

It comes in a crystalline form. You know, like those sour gummy candies? They're coated in the stuff.

 

@ shadowx: Nitroglycerine is indeed extremely pressure sensitive, but it is a liquid, not like citric acid.

 

First off, just making it to college does not guarantee intelligent life.

Yeah, that's what I'm saying

IMHO, basically all it shows is that someone had the money to pay for tuition.

[Ridwan sameer 0]

ooooh sorry about thatYeah im prettys rue thats what tehy use for those sour CandiesSo maybe he just wanted that feeling, with gumBUt it still puzzlez me why he had ad dangerous acid / chemical near him

[k_nitin_r 8]

Hi!I've noticed that a lot of posters seem to emphasize on the fact that he dipped his gum in citric acid. I'm pretty sure that citric acid and gum by themselves did not cause the explosion unless the gum contained something unusual. Citric acid is that same stuff that you find in orange juice or lemon juice. It adds that sour taste to both.

[thejode 0]

As reported through Yahoo! by Sky News - https://uk.news.yahoo.com/
Apparently, this individual liked to dip his gum in citric acid. Nearby the mess, another substance believed to be an explosive was found. The student's jaw was blown off.

Now of course this is an actual news story, but somehow, something doesn't seem right.

This was a chemistry student. You might think that someone intelligent enough to get into a university would be smart enough not to mix up his chemicals? Something doesn't add up here.

Could this truly be an accident, or do you think this guy found a novel way to off himself and become "an hero" as they say in the 'chans?

Whats' your view?

I think the guy might have been trying to invent something by dipping his gum in the citric acid. I know NOBODY who dips their gum in citric acid. Doesn't make much sense. But the citric acid itself shouldn't have caused the explosion to occur. I believe that he accidently dipped the gum in the explosive material somehow. Or maybe his family members were trying to bump him off (KIDDING!) Anyhow, once the "unidentified chemicals" are identified, maybe we'll actually know what happened to the dude. This is totally bizzare. As I said earlier, he probably was trying to invent something.

[anwiii 17]

i noticed the same thing. people aren't paying attention to the information in the original post or the news article(which was vague). if anyone ever sees a followup to that article, please post it here. i would like to know what the investigation uncovers....

Hi!
I've noticed that a lot of posters seem to emphasize on the fact that he dipped his gum in citric acid. I'm pretty sure that citric acid and gum by themselves did not cause the explosion unless the gum contained something unusual. Citric acid is that same stuff that you find in orange juice or lemon juice. It adds that sour taste to both.