Buzz
Patented in 1867, dynamite quickly became a widely-used explosive, offering a far safer solution compared to earlier methods. Even in modern times, it remains essential in industries like demolition, construction, mining, and quarrying.
While its explosive power has driven remarkable advancements, dynamite has also been linked to destruction and chaos. These accounts delve into its historical impact and the devastation it has caused since its invention.
10. Blast Fishing
Originally adopted by European militaries, blast fishing remains a harmful method still used to feed impoverished communities worldwide. During World War I, soldiers would toss grenades into water bodies to catch fish for sustenance. While now largely outlawed in many countries, this practice persists in regions plagued by poverty and easy access to dynamite.
In Tanzania, for instance, the rise of mining and construction has led to a resurgence of blast fishing among the desperate. A 2014 World Wildlife Fund study recorded approximately 19 daily explosions in a small aquatic area during a six-week acoustic pilot project.
For the past two decades, fishermen across Africa and Asia have turned to using dynamite sticks at night to avoid detection. This practice has devastating effects, creating craters in coral reefs and killing far more fish than can be collected.
Ironically, blast fishing often proves ineffective, as most fish sink after their air bladders and organs rupture. Those that remain afloat are typically inedible and decompose by morning, floating lifelessly on the water's surface.
9. Tunnel Excavation
Tunnel digging traces back to 2800 BC, with early inhabitants in places like Jerusalem and Mycenae carving through earth to locate water sources. This process was incredibly labor-intensive, as workers used tools like iron, fire, boiling water, and vinegar to soften the ground in those ancient times.
By the 17th century, modest advancements were made with the use of hammers and chisels. In 1627, initial trials with gunpowder began, and by 1857, hydraulic drilling machinery was employed to construct a 12-kilometer (7.5 mi) tunnel linking Italy and France.
Alfred Bernhard Nobel soon recognized the value of nitroglycerin for mining and quarrying, marketing it as “blasting oil.” After inventing the detonator in 1862, Nobel sought to enhance safety for miners and laborers, leading to further innovations.
Nitroglycerin's instability during transport caused numerous injuries and fatalities. To address this, Nobel combined the liquid with porous diatomaceous earth in 1867, creating dynamite—a far more stable and reliable explosive.
Dynamite not only improved safety but also delivered a more powerful blast, making tunnel construction faster and more efficient. Its significance grew further, becoming a crucial resource during periods of conflict and warfare.
8. Ingredients
Dynamite is made up of various explosive substances, some of which have unexpected benefits. One key ingredient is nitroglycerin, which plays a dual role in its composition.
Beyond its use as a colorless, oily, and highly reactive liquid for demolition, nitroglycerin also has significant medical applications. In 1879, London doctor William Murrell observed its similarities to amyl nitrite, a compound known to alleviate chest pain.
Dr. Murrell conducted extensive self-experiments with nitroglycerin, eventually becoming the first to advocate its use for treating angina, a condition characterized by chest pain or pressure.
After nitroglycerin was included in the British Pharmacopoeia, pharmaceutical chemist William Martindale sought to create a more stable and convenient form. By incorporating 1/100th of a grain of nitroglycerin into chocolate, he developed a remedy that not only eased chest pain but also satisfied hunger.
Surprisingly, peanuts can also play a role in dynamite production. While not essential, peanut oil yields glycerol, a key component in synthesizing nitroglycerin.
7. Raining Whale Blubber
In 1970, a 14-meter (45 ft), 8-ton dead whale washed up on a beach near Florence, Oregon. As authorities debated how to handle the situation, the decaying carcass emitted such a foul odor that extreme measures became necessary.
Oregon highway engineer George Thornton decided the most effective solution was to use explosives to disintegrate the whale, allowing scavengers to consume the remains. Unsure of the exact amount needed, Thornton opted for 20 crates of dynamite (0.5 tons) to carry out the task.
As onlookers gathered on the beach, the dynamite was detonated, resulting in a far larger explosion than anticipated. Instead of a controlled disintegration, massive chunks of whale blubber were hurled into the air, raining down on horrified spectators who were left covered in foul-smelling flesh and blood.
A car parked 0.40 kilometers (0.25 mi) away was destroyed by a large piece of the whale. Remarkably, no injuries were reported, though Thornton's reputation suffered. The event, captured on film, became an early viral sensation after years of being dismissed as an urban legend.
6. Three Shots
On a tense September evening in 1970, tensions peaked as furious union workers launched a strike against Tri-State Motors in Joplin, Missouri. That night, John A. Galt, driving a tractor trailer, found himself in an unfortunate situation.
Amid a crowd of enraged protesters on Interstate 44, Galt crossed the Teamsters' picket line, escalating the anger of the strikers. Shortly after, Bobby Lee Shuler and Gerald Lee Bowden, two union truck drivers, chased him and pulled over onto an exit ramp.
Shuler aimed his rifle at Galt's truck and fired two shots, unaware that the vehicle was loaded with 21 tons of dynamite. On the third shot, Galt, a father of four, was instantly killed in the explosion.
The blast's force knocked Shuler to the ground and shattered windows up to 19 kilometers (12 mi) away. Realizing the gravity of their actions, Shuler and Bowden tried to escape but found their truck disabled. With planes overhead and police dogs approaching, they surrendered peacefully.
Shuler later claimed he had no intention of harming anyone and was unaware of the truck's explosive cargo. Despite this, he was found guilty of second-degree murder in 1971 and sentenced to 99 years in prison.
Bowden was also found guilty of second-degree murder but received a shorter sentence of 10 years. After serving just four years, he was released. Similarly, Shuler was freed in 1979, four years after Bowden's release.
5. The Exploding Rat
By 1941, England faced relentless attacks from German forces. With Allied shipping routes under severe threat from U-boats and continuous air raids on British cities, innovative and desperate strategies were devised to counter the German war effort.
In 1940, Hugh Dalton, the Minister of Economic Warfare, established the Special Operations Executive (SOE), which devised an unconventional plan—using dead rats stuffed with dynamite to sabotage German boilers. The idea was to secretly place these explosive-laden rodents near boilers on enemy U-boats.
The plan involved placing the rat on coal near the boiler, where a German soldier would unknowingly toss it into the fire, triggering the explosive. However, how the British intended to access the boilers remains unclear.
Since dead rats weren’t commonly found on streets or falling from the sky, British intelligence deceived a London supplier into believing the carcasses were for London University. Sadly, the “exploding rat” scheme, now a legendary part of SOE history, never succeeded, as the first shipment was intercepted by the Germans.
Once the rats' true purpose was discovered, the Germans launched extensive searches for rodent-based explosives. Some confiscated carcasses were even displayed at elite German military academies, as they were impressed by the ingenuity and deadly potential of the design.
4. Grizzly Executions
By the late 19th century, the grizzly bear population in the United States had sharply declined. Many were killed indiscriminately due to a lack of awareness about the need for their conservation.
After Yellowstone became the first US national park in 1872, grizzlies were viewed as a tourist attraction, a perception that lasted for decades. In 1916, Frank Welch, a 61-year-old government worker, became the first recorded grizzly fatality in Yellowstone, fueling hostility toward these predators.
After Welch’s brutal attack, his coworkers decided the bear must “pay for its crimes.” In what became the park’s first well-documented grizzly “execution,” they placed food waste next to a barrel packed with dynamite. When “Old Two Toes” approached to eat, the dynamite was detonated, obliterating the bear.
This method became routine in the park until the environmental movement of 1962 advocated for grizzly preservation. However, in 1967, two 19-year-old girls camping 16 kilometers (10 mi) apart were killed by separate bears while sleeping, leading to a wave of grizzly executions in the Yellowstone area.
3. ‘The Crime Of The Century’
William King Thomas—an American entrepreneur, fraudster, and thief—had no qualms about destroying lives for profit. The heartless swindler, whose true identity was Alexander Keith, escaped to Germany in the 1870s after his victims uncovered his deceitful schemes.
As his time in hiding dragged on, so did his dwindling finances. This pushed the embezzler to return to his illegal but profitable pursuits. With a fresh plan in place, Keith packed a heavy barrel with dynamite, aiming to sabotage a passenger ship and claim marine insurance money.
After boarding the Mosel on a chilly December day in 1875, Keith retreated to his cabin, anticipating a lucrative payout. However, the unimaginable happened.
As families, friends, and supporters crowded the docks to bid farewell to their loved ones, a careless dockworker accidentally dropped the barrel while loading cargo. In an instant, 81 people were killed, and 50 others were injured in the explosion.
Witnessing the devastation from the explosion, which echoed 100 kilometers (62 mi) away, Keith staggered back to his room in shock and shot himself twice in the head. A suicide note left beside his body simply stated, “What I have seen today I cannot bear.”
2. An Appalling Cover-Up
For almost 80 years, one of Pennsylvania’s most horrific prison riots was concealed by an embarrassed state government. The incident began on February 11, 1924, when three inmates smuggled guns and dynamite into Western Penitentiary hidden inside tea cans.
While the exact method remains unclear, many suspect the involvement of a corrupt prison administration and an inmate’s girlfriend. When the dynamite was detonated to breach a wall, two guards rushed to the scene, mistaking the blast for a gas leak explosion.
Upon reaching the prison's south end, they were killed. After two hours of chaos, guards managed to retake control of the facility. The three inmates were later found guilty of murder.
In the aftermath of the explosion, Philadelphia newspapers sensationalized the event, labeling the perpetrators as “The Four Horsemen” while omitting the tragic deaths of Deputy Warden John Pieper, 35, and Yard Sergeant John T. Coax, 29. For almost 80 years, the sacrifices of Pieper and Coax were erased from Pennsylvania’s historical records.
Despite repeated requests from their families to honor the fallen officers, the state ignored these pleas to suppress the riot’s memory. It wasn’t until 2003 that the state formally recognized their deaths. Today, plaques commemorating Pieper and Coax hang in the prison’s administration building alongside memorials for two other guards killed in 1965 and 1973.
1. Injustice
Led by Bill Ayers, the Weather Underground, a radical leftist organization active in the 1960s and ‘70s, sought to overthrow the US government. Through a series of bombings using dynamite, they attacked the Capitol Building, the Albany Department of Corrections, NYPD headquarters, and the Pentagon, while also targeting prominent figures like the “Rockefellers, Oswalds, Reagans, and Nixons.”
“The narrative, often pushed by Bill Ayers, is that Weather never intended to kill anyone, but that’s false—we did,” admitted group member Howie Machtinger. “Police officers were considered legitimate targets.”
However, none of these bombings would have been possible without Ronald Fliegelman, the group’s “bomb guru.” He skillfully crafted explosives for the Weather Underground using dynamite sticks and inexpensive alarm clocks purchased from RadioShack.
By 1977, the extremist group advocating for a sexual revolution disbanded, and Fliegelman vanished from public view. For 25 years, his identity remained hidden until it was revealed he had been working as a special-education teacher in New York. By then, Fliegelman was immune to prosecution due to the five-year statute of limitations on his crimes.
Despite the outrage it may provoke, Fliegelman remains unrepentant and openly “proud of his actions.” Now 73 and retired, he receives an annual pension exceeding $40,000 and lives near the very areas where he once orchestrated chaos and destruction.
