[sdiy] Making a NP electrolytic out of (OT)

[harrybissell]

"R. D. Davis" wrote: <snip>

> That's not usually a good thing.  Of course...  that would be one
> creative way for someone to ignite a flash-pot (are those still legal
> to build out of black powder?) during a performance. :-)
>
>

Hmmm... were they ever legal ?   I opened a show for our college jazz band
in 1974... with a solo performance on my then new PAiA 2720.  The end of
the piece had a series of tapes that were thrown into fast forward to get a sort
of psycho-cresendo.... ending with my signature "space-torpedo" sound. At that
point, three flash-pots were to be detonated.

Of course, this was arranged by the THEATRE dept... who knew the jazz band was a
bunch of pussies (imho, correct) who would not agree to pyrotechnics...  so they
didn't
TELL the jazz band (MUSIC dept).  And the conductor had his baton up, and his butt
stuck out just a little bit right in the path of the central flash pot...

So with a quick backhand gesture to center stage... the flash pots went off.

Did you ever see the Coyote (Road Runner cartoons) just after some of those
explosives
backfire on him ??? sort of blackened with wisps of smoke ???  It took the jazz
band at least
a couple of measures of stunned silence before they jumped into their first tune.

(Later, the pussies complained that they might have been hurt, their instruments
might have been
hurt... the only one with a valid complaint was the conductor whose pants were a
bit singed...)

<bfg>

H^) harry