Slog
News & ArtsSaturday, May 5, 2012
International Mysterious Balloon Explosion at Armenian Political Rally
Posted by Brendan Kiley on Sat, May 5, 2012 at 12:35 PM
Scores of people were hurt in Yerevan, the capital, on Friday when gas-filled balloons exploded in a huge ball of flames at a campaign rally for Armenia’s Republican Party ahead of parliamentary elections on Sunday. More than 60 people, including children, were hospitalized after the explosion... Nikolai Grigoryan, the deputy director of Armenia’s rescue service, told the Novosti Armenia news agency that the balloons had been filled with helium and were ignited by a bystander’s cigarette. However, helium is an inert gas that does not burn.
In other Armenian news: Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day was last week and President Obama once again went back on his promise to finally call the genocide "genocide"—presumably because he doesn't want to upset his delicate relationship with the Turks, who are the only people left on the planet who like to pretend that this never happened.
On April 24, an Armenian-American friend sent me this photo and email:
- Nevdon Jamgochian
On this date in 1915, the leaders of the Turkish government rounded up and imprisoned—later killing most of them—250 of the most prominent Armenian intellectuals in Constantinople and started force-marching whole Armenian populations from the interior, mostly through the Syrian desert, without supplies. Around 1,500,000 of them died from this.
Attached is a photo of the house that I believe my family lived in, in Eastern Turkey, and a picture of my great-uncle Malcolm who was sitting on this porch, smoking a cigar and having tea after his work day, when he was shot and killed by Turkish Army irregulars. Our family had lived in this town for roughly 2500 years.
3
Oh, the humanity!
I've done acetylene in a balloon before. Very vigorous reaction upon application of flame.
5
This is sort of like Edison killing an elephant with A/C current to preserve his inferior DC monopoly, only on a far, far more horrible scale.
Poor Topsy, sacrificed for "business reasons" ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkBU3aYsf…
6
That's the problem with young people these days: they don't know their history.
11
#7
Myth: Hindenburg Fire
Careful investigation of the Hindenburg disaster verified the opinion of the engineers on the Hindenburg and proved that it was the flammable aluminum powder filled paint varnish that coated the infamous airship, not the hydrogen that started the fateful fire.
[...]
As eyewitnesses noted, the hydrogen fire started considerably after the Hindenburg’s surface skin started to burn and was over in less than one minute. The diesel fuel and other heavier-than-air components of the Hindenburg continued to burn many hours on the ground.
http://www.americanhydrogenassociation.o…
12
OKC shuts out the Mavs!!
Clay Bennett most brilliant sports manager in all time!!
Spins straw Sonics team into gold!
14
@9 The only other welding gas I know about, MAPP gas, is even heavier. Did your balloon float?
This was undoubtedly someone selling hydrogen labelled as helium. It was probably an intentional commercial fraud, although it could have also been stupidity. I actually had a junior high science teacher who thought he was teaching us to "make helium" with steel wool and vinegar. Luckily, we all survived.
18
Norway's Zero team crosses Europe in hydrogen cars without a backup
It's not quite a trip around the world, but a trek that Norway's Zero team recently undertook in a pair of hydrogen-fueled cars is certainly an impressive enough feat in its own right. Late last month, they drove two Hyundai Ix35 FCEVs from Oslo to Monte Carlo (admittedly one of the easier ways to technically "cross Europe"), relying solely on the existing hydrogen refueling infrastructure -- that's as opposed to other trips that brought along fuel trucks as backup.
http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/06/norwa…
Advertisement
Most Commented on Slog
-
Portland Voters Are Stoopid by Goldy
-
An I-5 Bridge Over the Skagit River Has Collapsed by Paul Constant
-
Rightwing Anti-Gay French Activist Commits Suicide at Notre Dame Cathedral by Dan Savage
-
Why They Break Windows by Unpaid Intern
-
Spoiled Rotten: Star Trek Into Darkness by Paul Constant
-
Usually When I'm Sent a Photoshopped Image of a Gun Pointed At Me... by Dan Savage
-
There Are No Atheists In Foxholes by Dan Savage
-
Tornado Truthers by Dan Savage
-
SL Letter of the Day: Did You Think I Was Going To Tell You Not To Come Out? (PLUS: Help Free Kate!) by Dan Savage
-
SL Letter of the Day: Have You Ever Heard of...? by Dan Savage
Stranger Personals
The Stranger
RSSSeattle Art & Performance Quarterly
A complete guide to Seattle's current art, film, dance, and theater season.
Facebook
Twitter
Comments (19) RSS