Einstein has been quoted as saying, “The Difference Between Stupidity and Genius Is That Genius Has Its Limits.” There is some dispute as to whether or not he actually said this, but no doubt someone has. Besides me that is. I’ve also said that my EMS career was based on a lifetime of thwarting natural selection.
This story,
Man loses leg shooting rifle at lawn mower packed with explosives
Gruesome video footage has surfaced showing the moment a Georgia daredevil lost his leg shooting a semiautomatic rifle at a lawn mower packed with several pounds of deadly explosives.
David Pressley, 32, can be seen moving closer and closer to the explosive target as he peppers it with bullets. Moments later, the lawn mower suddenly explodes, unleashing a plume of smoke and shrapnel.
Authorities said one piece of shrapnel struck Pressley, severing his leg from below the knee, according to ABC affiliate WSB-TV.
Feel free to click on the links to see the “footage”. Hmm, I wonder if that was a play on words? In any case, I’ve seen enough of that stuff over the years not to feel the need to see more.
I will throw in a plug for Ambulance Drivers Shooter Self Care Course. Which combines EMS and shooting. Like this blog does.
Seriously, everyone who goes shooting everywhere should have first aid training and supplies. You never know when they might come in handy even though accidents like this are fortunately quite rare.
I’ll leave the philosophical discussion over whether or not the human race is well served by saving people from the consequences of their own stupidity to others.
The graphic video, recorded last week, captures blood splattering across the camera’s lens before Pressley yells, “I blew my leg off!”
Another voice says, “Call an ambulance!”
Yep, it’s all fun and games until someone needs an ambulance.
“I heard him scream, and so I came downstairs and we were all like looking out the front window,” Mays said. “You would’ve had to be on drugs or something to think it was a good idea to play with that and try to blow up a lawn mower.”
“Hold my beer, and watch this!”
Tannerite — a mixture of ammonium nitrate and aluminum powder that explodes when struck by a high-velocity bullet — is normally used for target practice. The product’s website instructs users not to place Tannerite inside, under or near any type of metal objects. For every pound of Tannerite, experts advise standing 100 yards away.
“Do not shoot targets larger than 1 pound unless it is required due to extreme long-range competition,” safety instructions on the Tannerite website read.
Police say Pressley used three pounds of the material and was only 25 yards away when the explosion occurred.
It’s fun stuff, I’ve used it. I’ve also followed the directions and managed not to blow my self up or detach and body parts. It’s really not that difficult to use safely.
Of course, fortunate is a relative term, since if he was really fortunate, he wouldn’t have been injured. Then again, he’d probably just have continued on doing this sort of thing until he or someone else was killed or seriously injured.
They say you can’t fix stupid, but the truth is that stupid very often fixes itself. It’s usually a harsh and quite permanent fix.
“Stupidity cannot be cured. Stupidity is the only universal capital crime; the sentence is death. There is no appeal, and execution is carried out automatically and without pity.”
― Robert A. Heinlein
Pressley is fortunate that his friends were there and had the presence of mind to apply a tourniquet. Otherwise there is little doubt that he would have bled to death before EMS could reach him. Pressley lucked out, this time.