Exploding animal

This article covers incidents of animal explosion. This uncommon event may arise through natural causes or human activity.

One of the most famous category of cases, well-known because of footage being spread across the Internet, relates to exploding whales, and arise due to buildup of gas pressure during decomposition, or deliberate attempts at disposal, related to the carcass of a beached whale.Steven Hackstadt, [http://www.theexplodingwhale.com/#evidence The Evidence] , TheExplodingWhale.com Accessed November 7 2005; [http://perp.com/whale/ The Infamous Exploding Whale] perp.com, Accessed June 6 2005).]

Other incidents arise in nature (for example amongst some insect species, such as the Bombardier beetle), and in warFact|date=October 2008.

Causes of explosions

Natural processes

Natural explosions can occur for a variety of reasons. One whale explosion was caused by a build-up of natural gases created by methane-producing bacteria inside the carcass. [" [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3437455.stm Sperm whale explodes in Taiwanese City] ," "eTaiwan News", January 27 2004 (accessed November 17 2006).] A significant population of toads in Germany and Denmark were exploding in April 2005, [" [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4486247.stm Mystery of German exploding toads] ," "BBC News", April 27 2005 (accessed November 17 2006).] in an act described as a self-defense mechanism that failed, as it consisted of puffing up to look bigger while under attack by crows. Fact|date=April 2008

There are several species of ants, such as Camponotus saundersi, in southeast Asia that explode as a defensive mechanism to protect their nests from intruders. [ [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=15537154&dopt=Abstract "The Chemistry of Exploding Ants, Camponotus SPP. (Cylindricus COMPLEX)"] , T. H. Jones, D. A. Clark1, A. A. Edwards, D. W. Davidson, T. F. Spande and R. R. Snelling, Journal of Chemical Ecology, Volume 30, Number 8 / August, 2004, ISSN 0098-0331 (Print) 1573-1561 (Online)] [ [http://www.umanitoba.ca/cm/vol6/no18/explodingants.html "Exploding Ants: Amazing Facts About How Animals Adapt"] , Joanne Settel, Atheneum Books for Young Readers/Simon& Schuster, New York, NY, 1999 ISBN 0-689-81739-8.] Many species of termites have individuals specialized to explode for the same reason.

Artificial methods

Various military experiments have involved the use of animals with explosive devices attached to them. During World War II the U.S. "bat bombs" [http://www.afa.org/magazine/1990/1090bat.asp The Bat Bombers] , C. V. Glines, Journal of the Airforce Association, October 1990, Vol. 73, No. 10 (accessed November 17 2006). ] saw bats carrying small incendiary bombs, while the Soviet Union developed "anti-tank dogs". [ [http://www.soviet-empire.com/1/military/anti-tank/dog_mine/ Dog Anti-Tank Mine] , Soviet-Empire.com (accessed November 17 2006).] More recent times have seen the concept of donkeys carrying explosives and kamikaze dolphins that seek and destroy submarines as well as enemy warships. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/middle_east/670551.stm Iran buys kamikaze dolphins] , BBC News, Wednesday, 8 March, 2000, 16:45 GMT]

Exploding people

:"See the main article on the Byford Dolphin Diving bell accident"While a large reduction in atmospheric pressure on a human usually only causes decompression sickness, there is one case of a sudden "massive" pressure drop causing a human to explode. In 1983, four divers were in a decompression chamber aboard the Byford Dolphin oil rig. The chamber explosively decompressed from 9 atm to 1 atm following the improper opening of a pressure clamp. The sudden decompression killed all four divers, with the diver nearest the open clamp literally exploding. The rapid expansion of dissolved gases in his body caused the ejection of his internal organs, with one part of his body found 10 m above the chamber.

Human corpses can explode from natural causes. One famous example is that of William the Conqueror. King William I of England was very heavy-set, and at age 60 he was injured when his horse jostled, walking on a hot coal left after burning a town during a siege. William's intestines were ruptured, and he suffered a slow, painful death from peritonitis. It was at the end of a hot summer, there was no refrigeration, and the funeral had to wait until nobles and luminaries had traveled to the church for the funeral. And so his body swelled beyond the size of the coffin that had been made. According to the "Oxford Illustrated History of Britain":

On 9 September 1087, William I died. His body was carried to his great church of St. Stephen at Caen. Towards the end of his life he had grown very fat, and when the attendants tried to force the body into the stone sarcophagus, it burst, filling the church with a foul smell. It was an unfortunate ending to the career of an unusually fortunate and competent king. ["The Oxford Illustrated History of Britain", Kenneth O. Morgan (editor), Oxford University Press (September 1, 1984) ISBN-10: 0198226845]

A slightly more detailed account from Panati (1999) includes:

From postmortem decay the abscess had turgidly putrefied, bloating the corpse and expanding its girth. A group of bishops applied pressure on the king's abdomen to force the body downward (in the coffin) but it moved only inches; the lid still would not shut. Again they pushed, and the abdominal wall, already under intense internal pressure, burst. Pus and putrefaction drenched the king's death garb and seeped throughout the coffin. The stench so overpowered chapel mourners that, hands to noses, many raced for the doors."The Browser's Book of Endings: The End of Practically Everything and Everybody", Charles Panati, Penguin (Non-Classics); Reissue edition (December 1, 1999), ISBN-10: 014028690X]

Other occurrences

Urban legends

Many reports of exploding animals have proven to be urban legends. The ability to explode a cow by lighting the plentiful methane it produces, [ [http://www.darwinawards.com/legends/legends2000-06.html 2000 Urban
] ] for example, is known to be impossible. Another common story is that feeding birds with dry grains would cause a bird explosion. One of the more famous myths is that feeding sea gulls Alka-Seltzer can cause them to explode.

Memes

Some cases of exploding animals are simply memes spread through a variety of media. Exploding sheep, for example, feature in numerous computer games. However, it should be noted that in the years after the Kosovo War in 1999, in empty fields near Belgrade and Batajnica, unexploded NATO bombs have actually been triggered by herds of sheep.

The topic is a concept written on by American humourist Dave Barry, in his 1991 book "Dave Barry Talks Back". In the book, he claims to be researching for what he calls the Exploding Animal Institute or the Exploding Animal Research Institute. He describes the material as "alarming" and "scary," and jokes that "If you read this column regularly, you definitely need to get some kind of psychotherapy." [ [http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0517588684?keywords=%22exploding%20animal%22&v=search-inside Quotes regarding exploding animals from "Dave Barry Talks Back"] , (accessed November 17 2006).]

Popular culture

In the fictional video game series Pokémon, the Pokémon Koffing, Weezing, Voltorb, Electrode and Pineco are considered Pokémon with tendencies to explode randomly.

In Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, the swamp dragon is known to explode.

In various Monty Python sketches, exploding animals are common.

In the computer game "Worms" and its sequels, many of the weapons are based on exploding animals, such as sheep, cows and pigeons. Also, seconds after a worm dies, its body explodes, causing damage to nearby units.

There was an Australian rock group called Exploding White Mice active in the 1980s and early 1990s.

In the computer games "Warcraft II", "Warcraft III" and "Starcraft", repeatedly clicking on animals will cause them to violently explode as a comic effect but, they do no damage to any unit nearby.

In "" Pythona uses some kind of an animal as grenades against a GI-Joe unit.

See also

* Raining animals
* Spontaneous human combustion
* Military animals

References