national

Sapporo man recycles old Imperial Army bomb for use as door stopper

10 Comments
By Scott R Dixon

In this age of mass consumption where wasteful packaging is overused and people pour perfectly clean water over themselves for attention on the Internet, one of the best ways to counteract our increasingly wasteful society is to simply reuse items that would otherwise be headed for the dump.

But one wannabe environmentalist in Sapporo may have taken his pledge to save the earth a little bit too far when he “recycled” an old Japanese Imperial Army bomb into a rustic, and extremely dangerous, door stopper.

Last month, Hokkaido Prefectural Police got a call from a very worried woman when she realized that a cute-looking door stopper in her house was actually an old bomb. Apparently the woman’s husband never told her that a door in their house was being propped open with an explosive he received as a “gift from an acquaintance” over 20 years ago.

The police immediately notified the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force, which sent over a bomb removal team. While the GSDF said they send their team at least once per month to disable and safely dispose of unexploded bombs found in houses, Major Atushi Shirahama with the munitions and chemical division told local media that this was definitely his first time seeing one used as a door stopper.

The GSDF identified the bomb as a Japanese Imperial Army 75 mm “Dragon Shot.” The fuse was gone, but the explosive material inside was intact and could have easily gone off with the slightest kick, Shirahama said. The bomb was safely removed without having to evacuate the roughly 50 households in the immediate neighborhood. How it never went off despite being used as a door stopper all these years is nothing short of a miracle.

After Japanese netizens recovered from the shock of this man casually turning a deadly weapon into a door stopper, many wondered what kind of “acquaintance” would give someone an unexploded bomb as a gift. Others, meanwhile, were a bit jealous and wondered where they could get their own artillery shell (minus the explosive material) to use as a part of their new war-inspired interior design scheme.

Source: Hachimakiko

Read more stories from RocketNews24 -- Explosion-proof membranes won’t keep your phone from blowing, but it might save you from the shrapnel -- You won’t believe what’s at the end of this 4-hour line -- Amazing High Quality Color Footage of a Very Different Tokyo Circa 1935

© RocketNews24

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

10 Comments
Login to comment

Crazy ideas. An unexploded ordnance for a door stopper? Why don't you just use it for hanabi festivals.

-3 ( +2 / -5 )

The dragon Shot was for sure an RDX or TNT or both mortart intended for destroying tanks. Without fuse moisture came in and the explosive lost its power.

6 ( +6 / -0 )

No picture?

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Bomb? The article says it was a bomb, but then at the end an artillery shell. A bit confusing.

The photo in the link above suggests an artillery shell.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

@nandakandamanda,

NOUN bomb (plural bombs)

An explosive device used or intended as a weapon.

(source: wiktionary)

In other words the term "bomb" has a very general meaning and can be used to describe numerous devices.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

You know what this article needs?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dO076n2VXuY

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Damn Papigiulio! That's rare! From when Fresh Prince tried to go hard in response to his critics....

Back to topic though, I'd like to see an image of the device.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

@carsonjon2

There is a picture in the link!

1 ( +2 / -1 )

I'd ask for restitution. Unless the JSDF removed the old explosive from inside the shell and returned it to the man. Nothing wrong with having a SAFE part of history around the house, even if it is an old motor shell

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Login to leave a comment

Facebook users

Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday. By doing so, you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts.

Facebook Connect

Login with your JapanToday account

User registration

Articles, Offers & Useful Resources

A mix of what's trending on our other sites