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Posted: 6/8/2010 7:22:40 PM EDT
Starting to hear fireworks in my neighborhood and I got to wondering why that big ass illegal firecracker is called an M-80, Or M-100, or M-1000 or whatever.
Was it originally a Military explosive or something? What does the 80 mean? (yeah, I could google it, but arfcom is better than google!) |
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Real M-1000 are cool as hell. You will know when one goes off sounds like tannerite.
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It is just a name game. I don't know if any specific firecracker has ever been banned or not, but I don't think so.
As far as I know it started with the M-60, then somebody came out with an M-80, and told everybody that the M-60 was really a quarter stick of dynamite, and was banned, but the M-80 was just as powerful, but not banned yet. Then the M-100, then how knows. ETA: I am pretty sure that the original M-60's were made in the factory that Mattel used to make M16 rifles in. |
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I think many years ago the military had an explosive called the M80, used for simulating artillery.
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Quoted:
I think many years ago the military had an explosive called the M80, used for simulating artillery. this |
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M-80s are a class of large firecrackers, sometimes called salutes.[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M-80_%28explosive%29#cite_note-FW-GLOSS-S-0][1][/url] The Simulator, Artillery, M80, was originally made in the early 20th century by the U.S. Military to simulate explosives or artillery fire;[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M-80_%28explosive%29#cite_note-1][2][/url] later, they were manufactured as fireworks. Traditionally, M-80s were made from a small red cardboard tube approximately 1½ inches (3.8 cm) long and 9/16–5/8 inches (1.4–1.6 cm) in diameter, with a Visco fuse coming out of the side, holding approximately 2½–3 grams of pyrotechnic flash powder; one source states that an M-80 has at least 3 grams of explosive.[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M-80_%28explosive%29#cite_note-2][3][/url] For comparison, the Quarter stick contains 20 grams of explosive. [edit] Early use and |
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Back in the 70's before they banned them there were M80's, Cherry bombs and Silver salutes. I think it was just a name for the cracker. All three were loud and would shred your hand if you held onto them. My dad would give them to us as kids on the 4th. Good times!
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I'd heard (as a kid) that the M-80 was named for having approimately the exlosive power of 1/8 of a stick of dynamite.
I don't know if that's true. |
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Quoted:
It is just a name game. I don't know if any specific firecracker has ever been banned or not, but I don't think so. As far as I know it started with the M-60, then somebody came out with an M-80, and told everybody that the M-60 was really a quarter stick of dynamite, and was banned, but the M-80 was just as powerful, but not banned yet. Then the M-100, then how knows. ETA: I am pretty sure that the original M-60's were made in the factory that Mattel used to make M16 rifles in. Firecrackers become illegal when there is more than 50mg of flash powder in them. Anything larger than that, you need a special license. 1.3g salutes are the bomb, when you can get them legally and possess the proper credentials. |
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Quoted:
Back in the 70's before they banned them there were M80's, Cherry bombs and Silver salutes. I think it was just a name for the cracker. All three were loud and would shred your hand if you held onto them. My dad would give them to us as kids on the 4th. Good times! Yeah, ask anyone 40-ish or older about a cherry bomb and they'll tell you some stories. Ask a kid and you'll get the deer in the headlights look. The nanny state has to protect us from ourselves, you know. |
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You gotta watch out for some of them because some of the fuses burn quicker than others. I seen a guy light one one time and as soon as the fuse lit it went off...
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I won't link it, but go over to the Gun Zone and look up its Darwin Award candidates. There's a pic of a guy who put an M80 in his mouth and set it off. It's truly awful.
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I had some M-80s once.
Real ones. Those things were very powerful, more so than a simple firecraker. |
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You're gonna stand there, ownin' a fireworks stand, and tell me you
don't have no whistlin' bungholes, no spleen splitters, whisker biscuits, honkey lighters, hoosker doos, hoosker don'ts, cherry bombs, nipsy daisers, with or without the scooter stick, or one single whistlin' kitty chaser? |
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Quoted: You're gonna stand there, ownin' a fireworks stand, and tell me you don't have no whistlin' bungholes, no spleen splitters, whisker biscuits, honkey lighters, hoosker doos, hoosker don'ts, cherry bombs, nipsy daisers, with or without the scooter stick, or one single whistlin' kitty chaser? |
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Quoted:
You're gonna stand there, ownin' a fireworks stand, and tell me you don't have no whistlin' bungholes, no spleen splitters, whisker biscuits, honkey lighters, hoosker doos, hoosker don'ts, cherry bombs, nipsy daisers, with or without the scooter stick, or one single whistlin' kitty chaser? nothing better than joe dirt |
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Quoted: I'd heard (as a kid) that the M-80 was named for having approimately the exlosive power of 1/8 of a stick of dynamite. I don't know if that's true. I heard something similar. A H-100 was a 1/4 stick of TNT, and an M-80 was half of that. |
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A neighbor of mine back in the '80's used to get us "Seal Bommbs" They where yellow and about twice as long as a M-80. They had a waterproof fuse, we would save them for times when the drainage ditch would flood.
One half of it was sawdust to make them float about 3-4 feet under water . When th editch was moving swiftly they would blow about 12' away! it was a good time to be had! |
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Quoted: You're gonna stand there, ownin' a fireworks stand, and tell me you don't have no whistlin' bungholes, no spleen splitters, whisker biscuits, honkey lighters, hoosker doos, hoosker don'ts, cherry bombs, nipsy daisers, with or without the scooter stick, or one single whistlin' kitty chaser? |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
Back in the 70's before they banned them there were M80's, Cherry bombs and Silver salutes. I think it was just a name for the cracker. All three were loud and would shred your hand if you held onto them. My dad would give them to us as kids on the 4th. Good times! Yeah, ask anyone 40-ish or older about a cherry bomb and they'll tell you some stories. Ask a kid and you'll get the deer in the headlights look. The nanny state has to protect us from ourselves, you know. Yep. While in Jr. High the rage was for the misfits to flush cherry bombs in the toilets. On several occasions one or another of the boy's bathrooms was closed due to drain plumbing failures. |
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I work at a fireworks stand I laugh at everyone who walks in looking for M-80s.
I really like the kids (10 to 15 year olds) who say they know where they can buy M-80s, I always tell them they have been banned before they were born. |
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I used to have gross cases of these packed into a larger case. We shot them all of during the 80s. I wanna say we got em from a Govt ugh place.
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MYTHBUSTERS material. Will an M-80 or "cherrybomb", placed under an upturned garbage can, propel a person sitting upon it airborne?
edited for some clarity |
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Quoted:
I work at a fireworks stand I laugh at everyone who walks in looking for M-80s. I really like the kids (10 to 15 year olds) who say they know where they can buy M-80s, I always tell them they have been banned before they were born. When I was in highschool me and a bud went to "The" stand that sold bigger illegal stuff. The guy kept asking me if I was a cop, and if I was, I had to tell him. I LOL'd. He kept telling me they were illegal too. I think he figured that would make me want them more or something. He had this garbage bag FULL of M-80's, coke can sized ones, tennis ball shaped ones, etc. He wanted $2 a pop for the M-80's! I bought two and thanked him. They were neat, but not $2 neat, or bloody stump worthy. |
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I use to get real m80s as a kid off the Indians on the reservation by my house. They call them K88s, k100s, and k1000s. They were homemade with tons of flash powder, in a cardboard tube with a waterproof wick. They were strong enough to blow mailboxes, roadkill, or anything else we could stuff them in.
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Quoted:
M-80s are a class of large firecrackers, sometimes called salutes.[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M-80_%28explosive%29#cite_note-FW-GLOSS-S-0][1][/url] The Simulator, Artillery, M80, was originally made in the early 20th century by the U.S. Military to simulate explosives or artillery fire;[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M-80_%28explosive%29#cite_note-1][2][/url] later, they were manufactured as fireworks. Traditionally, M-80s were made from a small red cardboard tube approximately 1½ inches (3.8 cm) long and 9/16–5/8 inches (1.4–1.6 cm) in diameter, with a Visco fuse coming out of the side, holding approximately 2½–3 grams of pyrotechnic flash powder; one source states that an M-80 has at least 3 grams of explosive.[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M-80_%28explosive%29#cite_note-2][3][/url] For comparison, the Quarter stick contains 20 grams of explosive.
[edit] Early use and USA legislationDue to property damages and bodily harm caused by M-80s, Class C fireworks—now known as Consumer Fireworks (class 1.4G), as opposed to Display Fireworks (which were Class B, and are now 1.3G)[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M-80_%28explosive%29#cite_note-CLASSIFICATIONS-3][4][/url]— civilians are no longer allowed to carry a pyrotechnic device containing more than 50 milligrams of pyrotechnic flash powder. In 1966, M-80s and cherry bombs were banned by the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the Child Protection Act of 1966. Furthermore, they were then made illegal by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) in the 1970s. In 1975, U.S. federal regulations were passed to limit all consumer-grade fireworks in the United States to a maximum of 50 milligrams flash powder, down from a previous maximum of 200 milligrams (though firecrackers mounted onto a rocket stick, or other aerial firework devices, such as Rockets, Roman Candles, and Cakes, may have up to 160 mg).
Half Sticks are 10 times bigger than M80s therefore numerous injuries accompanied their use during the 1950s and 1960s, and still occur, as M-80s are still produced and sold primarily on Indian reservations.[citation needed] Despite instructions to only ignite the product on the ground (many M-80s even have the words "do not hold in hand" written on the tube[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M-80_%28explosive%29#cite_note-FW-GLOSS-S-0][1][/url]), many users attempt to light an M-80 while holding it, then throw it before it explodes. Others attempt to relight a device that went out. Due to their illicit nature, M-80s may also contain unstable compositions, which add to the possibility of injury. There have been documented cases of users losing their fingers or hands[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M-80_%28explosive%29#cite_note-CPSC-4][5][/url]. Peter Criss, drummer for the rock band Kiss, was a victim of an M-80 during a 1976 Richmond Coliseum concert when a fan threw an M-80 onto the stage, nearly knocking him off his drum riser and leaving him with partial hearing loss for the remainder of the night.[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M-80_%28explosive%29#cite_note-5][6][/url]
[edit] Modern useM-80s can still be legally manufactured in the United States by those holding a federal explosives license. Federal and state officials sometimes distribute them to farmers to scare away wildlife encroaching on their crops.[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M-80_%28explosive%29#cite_note-6][7][/url]
While there are currently many firecrackers sold legally in the United States today to consumers under names such as "M-80 Firecracker", "M-8000", or "M-##" (where ## is a number), all of these contain no more than 50 mg of flash powder, and the name is just a lure to make consumers think they are more powerful than they are. These firecrackers most commonly have a small capsule with up to 50 mg of powder and a fuse in it. Surrounding the capsule is plaster or a similar material, and finally a red tube and two plastic endcaps. Because of the size of these firecrackers, buyers are occasionally deceived into thinking that the entire tube is full. Also the fuse, at times, protrudes from the ends of these firecrackers, as opposed to the middle of the tube in real M-80s. Genuine M-80s have paper endcaps, and contain 50–60 times more powder. (Contrary to urban legend, an M-80 that contains 3,000 mg of powder is not equivalent to a quarter-stick of dynamite. Dynamite contains a stable nitroglycerin based high explosive, whereas M-80s or any other kind of firecracker contains a low explosive powder, like flash powder or black powder.)[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M-80_%28explosive%29#cite_note-8][9][/url]
M-80s containing the full original explosive charge continue to be manufactured, bought, and used illegally in the United States. However, in many other countries where regulations are less stringent, large firecrackers such as the M-80 and its equivalents continue to be legally produced, sold, and used. Note that in spite of their destructive potential, M-80's and other salutes are not technically explosives. They do not produce shock waves, and they do not exhibit the Munroe effect. However, several governments have classified such large salutes as explosive devices, due to their potential for personal harm.
Thankee sai |
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I believe all firecrackers are now limited to 50mg grains of flash powder
ETA: Should have read the wiki entry |
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Quoted:
MYTHBUSTERS material. Will an M-80 or "cherrybomb", placed under an upturned garbage can, propel a person sitting upon it airborne? edited for some clarity No, it will just blow a hole in the side of the can. They will take out a rural mailbox though (I was a kid in the 50's and 60's). |
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I may or may not have a large bag of M-80s,I think I may have lit 3 in the past 5 years.They are certainly not to be messed with...I mean run like hell if you intend to set one off.
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Ok, how about this: I know a guy who has a fireworks license of sorts, he can get stuff bigger then an average consumer, I am guessing it is some kind of business thing. Anyway, about 10 years ago I went to his July 4th party. Before his 45 minute aerial display, he had some big boomers that looked like softballs and sounded like dynamite. Anyone know what I am talking about, or were they homemade?
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I once put a M1000 into a restaurant-style 5-gallon bucket, hoping to launch it.
Blew that bucket into a million pieces |
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We had cherry bombs and M80's year round when I was a kid. Although, we didn't do anywhere near the crazy stuff my dad and his friends did in the 1930's. He has stories of kids blowing up toilets and stuff like that. Throwing cherry bombs at each other for fun.
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Quoted:
Starting to hear fireworks in my neighborhood and I got to wondering why that big ass illegal firecracker is called an M-80, Or M-100, or M-1000 or whatever. Was it originally a Military explosive or something? What does the 80 mean? (yeah, I could google it, but arfcom is better than google!) Because they'd get sued if they printed "Glock" on the side. (I get a pass on these jokes, one of mine really did blow up) |
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My grandpa that passed away last year had a coffee can with "cherry bombs" in it. I actually believe him as he had those kind of connections and they were louder than anything I've ever seen. He brings out the can and goes "I thought it was ok to mix em with smoke bombs, only now I can't tell a difference" Sure enough, first one was red smoke...second knocked a full soda can that was left after a hasty retreat over.
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we had "H-1000" we taped um up to arrows, lit em then shoot them off a cross bow. Lots of fun, you could feel the explosion in your chest.
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Quoted:
Quoted:
MYTHBUSTERS material. Will an M-80 or "cherrybomb", placed under an upturned garbage can, propel a person sitting upon it airborne? edited for some clarity No, it will just blow a hole in the side of the can. They will take out a rural mailbox though (I was a kid in the 50's and 60's). Yes it will!!! Its where we get the term "shit hits the fan." The explosive scares the shit out of someone inside the can so bad that it propells them upward. |
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I once read in an old book that at one time (several decades ago) a cherry bomb was equal to four M-80's, or 160 firecrackers.
So from that it can be assumed that one M-80 = 40 firecrackers. –––––– The stuff in the US today is pretend stuff, it's nowhere near what it used to be. ~ |
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Quoted:
I once read in an old book that at one time (several decades ago) a cherry bomb was equal to four M-80's, or 160 firecrackers. So from that it can be assumed that one M-80 = 40 firecrackers. –––––– The stuff in the US today is pretend stuff, it's nowhere near what it used to be. ~ M80's and cherry bombs were about the same, maybe a little edge to the M80. |
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Back when I lived up in NY, we used to be able to get "the good stuff" by going into Chinatown in NYC.
Wanna' have some fun? Duct tape an M-80 to a can of starting fluid, then chuck it REAL FAR! Nice fireball! |
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I just remembered this, we used to take 8oz rockets and pull the nose cone off. Fill the tip with some red dot powder and put a cherry bomb on the tip. Instead of a wimpy few lady fingers you got a good whomp at the end.
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We used to put M80s in a thick walled aluminum tube and jam a tennis ball into the end before it went off. The height and speed were impressive.
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My dad has told me on various occasions as a child he would make tennis ball mortars using a metal pipe, a tennis ball and an m80 or cherry bomb as the propellant. Said he could get upwards of 200ft.
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Quoted:
Here you go from NAVORD OP 2213, First Revision Change 19, 1 Oct 1965/ 1st Change 1 Jan 1969. This is all unclassified and in the public domain now. http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee46/eodtech2000/eod/m80-0.jpg http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee46/eodtech2000/eod/m80-1.jpg http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee46/eodtech2000/eod/m80-2.jpg Well that settles it! Thanks! |
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M80s seemed to have more destructive power.
Cherry bombs seemed to have a louder bang. In the long ago I remember witnessing 2 teenage guys (I was maybe 10) rig up a plastic rocket with 2 cherry bombs attached. Using some conglomeration of tape and fuse they launched the rocket over main street in the little one horse town I grew up in. The rocket went up, the cherry bombs lit and fell away. They detonated almost simultaneously about 4 feet from the plate glass window of the Drug Store. Broke the window and lights came on all over town. I was with an older cousin and we GTFO before the popo showed up. |
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Quoted: I work at a fireworks stand I laugh at everyone who walks in looking for M-80s. I really like the kids (10 to 15 year olds) who say they know where they can buy M-80s, I always tell them they have been banned before they were born. banned != not for sale Like most things, they can be bought on the black market. |
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Quoted:
We had cherry bombs and M80's year round when I was a kid. Although, we didn't do anywhere near the crazy stuff my dad and his friends did in the 1930's. He has stories of kids blowing up toilets and stuff like that. Throwing cherry bombs at each other for fun. Lemme guess: bought @ the Sausalito flea market? |
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