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Back in the day....
Dec. 12th, 2008 10:32 pmTo feed my voracious reading habit, I tend to pick up interesting looking books from the dollar store, library sales, and the like. the theory is that I'm perfectly willing to blow a dollar or less on a book and find out that it is totally unreadable. These are the books that I bring to work to read at lunch, and bring with me when I'm traveling and I just leave them behind when I'm done with them.
So I'm reading The History of the Comstock Lode 1850-1920 published by the Nevada bureau of mines. One of the chapters talks about the introduction of dynamite(called giant powder) to the mining industry, replacing black powder and nitrocellulose blasting powder. Then in a footnote it mentions this.
"On June 29th 1873, at 11pm, the McLaughlin & Root building...was blown to pieces by the explosion of 100 pounds of Hercules powder, 6 cases of nitro-glycerine, 100 pounds of giant powder, and 200 pounds of common powder, which had been stored in the bedroom of General J.L.Van Bokkelen. The General and nine others perished. It was supposed that the explosion was caused by a mischievous monkey that the General kept in his apartment. The General was an agent for explosives. "
Wow.
So I'm reading The History of the Comstock Lode 1850-1920 published by the Nevada bureau of mines. One of the chapters talks about the introduction of dynamite(called giant powder) to the mining industry, replacing black powder and nitrocellulose blasting powder. Then in a footnote it mentions this.
"On June 29th 1873, at 11pm, the McLaughlin & Root building...was blown to pieces by the explosion of 100 pounds of Hercules powder, 6 cases of nitro-glycerine, 100 pounds of giant powder, and 200 pounds of common powder, which had been stored in the bedroom of General J.L.Van Bokkelen. The General and nine others perished. It was supposed that the explosion was caused by a mischievous monkey that the General kept in his apartment. The General was an agent for explosives. "
Wow.
