Stupid People Do Stupid Stuff
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Thought I'd do my public service bit...
I blew myself up yesterday.
Sounds dramatic, doesn't it?
Well, it was good enough that it scared the daylights out of the wife, cat and dog, all of whom were in the house at the time.Being closer to the event, I thought the fireball was pretty impressive, myself.
Yesterday was a productive day. Plowed the garden, planted three roses, went down to the in-laws and hauled back a middle-buster for my tractor, took the box blade and shoved up a bunch of oak leaves and limbs onto the burn pile. Pile was probably 15-20 feet across and maybe 5 feet high.
Couldn't get those damp leaves to catch, so I grabbed a jug of bad fuel. I couldn't remember if it was diesel or gasoline, so I sniffed it. Not much smell. So, I poured some out. It's green, so that's old diesel. Doused my pile on one side and chunked a match.
It was gasoline.
That was interesting.Burned a mite on one forearm. Burned worse on the right side of my face. Nothing earth shattering, got one tiny hole into the dermis, and some pretty decent blisters this morning. A couple the size of a quarter. Along with losing a sideburn and one eyebrow.
Tetanus shot, Clindamycin, Mupiricin and Silvadene.
So folks, do not mistake bad gas for diesel. Do not handle flammable material when your butt is dragging.
And do not try this at home.
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Ouch.
I once caught myself on fire once doing something similar. I dropped and rolled instinctively, like those ads from childhood told us to. Burned the F out of my arm. I smelled like burnt hair for a long time.
This happened at my friend’s place in Bavaria.
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Ouch - sounds nasty. Glad you're not more badly damaged.
I would give you a lecture on the dangers of explosive atmospheres (which is my day-job, after all), but you probably don't need one at this point.
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Ouch - sounds nasty. Glad you're not more badly damaged.
I would give you a lecture on the dangers of explosive atmospheres (which is my day-job, after all), but you probably don't need one at this point.
@Doctor-Phibes said in Stupid People Do Stupid Stuff:
Ouch - sounds nasty. Glad you're not more badly damaged.
Me toooo.
I would give you a lecture on the dangers of explosive atmospheres (which is my day-job, after all), but you probably don't need one at this point.
OTOH, this might be the best time.
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Wow!! Glad it was not worse @jolly.
:couple_with_heart:
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So did the pile of leaves and limbs go away?
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So did the pile of leaves and limbs go away?
@LuFins-Dad said in Stupid People Do Stupid Stuff:
So did the pile of leaves and limbs go away?
Damn Skippy.
I let the wife to watch the pile and once I got back from urgent care and the pharmacy, I grabbed a rake and banked what was left. Didn't want it getting out. Was still burning this morning.
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Now the next important question… Shaving off the other sideburn to match?
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Now the next important question… Shaving off the other sideburn to match?
@LuFins-Dad said in Stupid People Do Stupid Stuff:
Now the next important question… Shaving off the other sideburn to match?
Yep.
Trimmed the other eye brow, too.
Not that I'm gonna wander off anywhere. The blisters have mostly drained into one big blister, sticking out about 3/4".
I'd scare the sugar out of little kids.
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Crap, Jolly. Glad you're here to tell the tale. Still, a good burn can hurt like an SOB. Hope you're feeling better in a few - and no infection.
@kluurs said in Stupid People Do Stupid Stuff:
Crap, Jolly. Glad you're here to tell the tale. Still, a good burn can hurt like an SOB. Hope you're feeling better in a few - and no infection.
Same. Close call!
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Good that you’re okay.
Stuff like that happens. 30 years ago my friend had a similar incident on our annual moose hunt. In his case it was an old coal furnace that heated the his parent’s cabin. He stoked the furnace and thought he’d open the front damper to blow some air across the coal. Big mistake. It flashed back into his face. We took him into the local rural emergency because he said he couldn’t see. Luckily he regained sight within an hour but in end had first degree facial burns and a lot of cringed hair including eye lashes and brows. Doctor told him his guardian angel was with him as it ought to have been much worse.
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Holy cow, Jolly. Yes, I bet your wife was plenty scared. Burns are so nasty. Never had one on my face, but have had several minor burns, and one that still haunts me. I was about 6 or 7 years old, and dad lifted me off his motorcycle after we got home. My bare right leg ended up on the exhaust pipe, and dad couldn't understand why I was screaming. He helped me off it, but not fast enough. That was a bad one, and all we had was ice and elevating the leg.
Yours sounds very painful, so I hope you've had some topical pain relief products. Otherwise, it's mighty hard to sleep.
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Wow! Really glad it wasn’t worse. Youngest son “26”, lives in old apartment with radiator heat and got a really nasty steam burn last November. That was a pretty scary phone call from ER and he certainly would attest to how painful burns are. Glad you are doing okay.
