Explosions: Some of My Favorite "High School Science" Moments 

 This page is dedicated to my favorite high school science teacher and good friend, Dr. Lane.  Not only did he encourage my endless questions, curiosity, and interest in science, but he also helped to make the subject even more fun for us all by entertaining the class with jokes, experiments, and after-school counseling on projects of all sorts.  Here are snippets from a few of the more ill-advised ones, beginning with one of my all-time favorite memories: the explosion of a baby watermelon on a tree stump (above).  Note the demise of both the watermelon and the stump.

We learned that some carb cleaner and hydrogen gas, mixed in the right proportions, made for an awesome potato cannon fuel.  Anything stronger would just rip the potato apart before it made it out of the barrel (we tried).  Here you can see my friend's amazing sharp-shooter skills.

Dr. Lane and I were involved in various independent study projects.  My fascination with hydrogen gas (both its generation and use) allowed me to come up with creative ways to get rid of (burn) it.  Here you see me lighting some hydrogen soap bubbles on fire in slow motion.

The legend himself, assisting in the manufacture of spaghetti squash puree.

My dad's slow-motion laugh is almost as good as the explosion in this clip!

Although this particular hobby has slowed down a lot since I "grew up" (haha), I couldn't help but to combine the hobbies of pyrotechnics and 3D printing for what I hope will be a spectacular show of Thingiverse gnome destruction.  Stay tuned for more details, but for now here's a quick preview.

Get ready, little man!