Yesterday, as I was walking the halls of my school (I am only 17) I saw our athletic council selling plastic water bottles for $10.50. I asked why so much? And they said they were indestructible- I laughed to myself. They proceeded to show me how you could drop it, jam it in doors and even run it over with a car, and it would not break (bending only slightly) it sounded like a challenge, so I bought one. And now I am going to send it to hell, and for the good of the forum I am going to get it on video, from two different angles. How do you think I should go about blowing this thing into small, but still findable pieces (there is a reward if you break one) and it can’t be melted

IMHO putting a simple good old pipe bomb in the thing and kaboom.I don't know though.HEs generate heat so it may leave the marks of kind of "burned".Try pipe bomb cause thats the simplest,hence the best;) good luck.

For the retrieving after blasting into small pieces, I'd just bury it in a large bucket of sand. After the charge is set off, pour through a window screeen, or other similar large mesh material, to collect hopefully. Might also want to try shooting the bottle with a gun. You could always freeze with liquid Nitrogen and proceed to play a bit of sledge hammer baseball. Ok, so that isn't to viable, but it'd be fun.

Does the bottle have to be broken into pieces or could it just be cracked? Is there some sort of recycling code as to what the substance is? You might be able to conviently "spill" some sort of solvent on it, to make the crack. I am assuming this is a plastic of some sort. Correct me if I'm wrong.

A simple dry ice "bomb" might do the trick.

Burying it is a good idea, but I'd suggest more than just a bucket, bury it a couple feet down with a flash charge. Light the (long!) fuse, screw the lid on and bury it quickly. Then just dig up the pieces... I've done this many times to blast things apart and recover them. What's the reward? Sounds like fun...

Wrap a turn of det cord around it. Flash will likely melt it.

Why not freeze it? Fill it with water, cap it tight and stick it in the freezer. If it's just plastic it should burst eventually.

Some liquid nitrogen would also be handy if you can get some :)

Fill it with water and place a Cob in it. The water will put out any flames that propagate towards the walls so there will be no burn marks but still have relative fast pieces of sharp metal to slice it nicely. Or even with a metal hack sawer.

I tried the water/freezer trick, it just expanded into a sphere shape and when I let it melt it just went back to the way it was. As for liquid nitrogen, I don’t have any, but what I do have is difluoroethane, you can get it by buying compressed-gas dusters (mine are called dust-off) and turning them upside down while you use them. This causes them to spray liquid difluoroethane. the stuff is really cold(not quite liquid nitro but it still makes plants shatter when you freeze and drop them) but the liquid can be ignited even though its not classified as 'flammable'. I think I will fill the bottle with water, then put in a small HE det, the water should prevent burning and allow me to use a lower amount of explosive. (downside would be I have no visco, and I hate using electric ignites when the det is submerged in water)
@Bert: If only I had det cord- that would noo doubt cut it in half.

Dragons post was posted while I was writing mine, else I wouldn't have brought up the water. I think that will work best. Now what should I use as the det?

Well assuming you don't have enough explosive laying around to fill it at least half full with HE.... I would just recommend the underwater explosion (I think someone mentioned it) if this super bottle you have can survive that then it can survive anything

Why not burn it?
Stick a thermite charge in the water bottle and see how long it lasts then. I dont know of very many things that can survive 5000C for long.

Fill the bitch with HMTD and blow it sky high.

Also, for intrestest sake, try a diamond tipped drill bit. They can cut through steel... so unless this is some new military material they got ahold of... its gonna become awfully fucked up....

EDIT- Sorry if I seem like an idiot right now, but I havent slept well the last two weeks and Im starting to become lightheaded... Im crawling in bed ten seconds after this is posted...

Originally posted by Flake2m
Why not burn it?
Stick a thermite charge in the water bottle and see how long it lasts then. I dont know of very many things that can survive 5000C for long.


he said he was not allowed to burn it!

If the water freezing didn't get it, try filling it with some coke (or pepsi... whatever). My mum accidentaly left a can of pepsi in the freezer one day, she was trying to cool it quickly before she left, and forgot it in the rush.

When she got home, it had ripped the can in half, and blown the freezer door open and covered the kitchen floor in pepsi. :D

Now, if that still doesn't work, do that but run over it when it's frozen enough. It's have to crack / shatter after that, surely.

Could you give us a pic of it? I have never seen anything "indestructable" before.
I´d reckon 50g of APAN would do the trick.
HE´s detonates too fast for any burn marking to occur, so don´t worry about that.
If you want to use it filled with water, put the explosive in a long container, so you get the end outside the bottle, Then you don´t need a waterproof fuse.

Come on, it's only going to be a high-impact plastic!

Thermite and high-tech cutting tools aren't going to be required.

Someone was onto something when they said fill it with water and put a COB/cap in it. Filling it with HE is going to make it unrecoverable. Once filled with water, even a gram or two of primary will bust it for sure. Unless the lid is much weaker and pops off first (although it'd still be a warranty failure). BTW, electric dets are well suited to underwater work - much easier to seal than a fuse. Try hotmelt glue.

Also, if you're returning this for a reward, aren't they going to ask how you broke it?

Yeah, I doubt it would be wise, telling them, you blew it up with homemade explosives :)

Just my 2 cents

I hope that reward is more than the original cost of the bottle..

The reward is not run through the school, just a bet my friend made that I couldn't break it. It’s not indestructible- you can saw it in half, you can melt it, and you can drill a hole in it, you just can't break it by dropping/kicking/hitting with a hammer. I have a pic, but for some reason the image posting is not up so you will have to wait. I’m thinking of using Picric acid, I’m a little short on nitric acid and other not so common chems so I need to find something easy and cheep.(the bottle is 500ml)

he's talking about those nalgene bottle that backpackers/rockclimbers use.
try an axe,or put it between your car frame and a jack try and get it on a sharp/narrow edge

Hmm. Nalgene. Is that HF resistant? :D Don't think so.... :p

How about a little run-in with a lawn mower? I have yet to see any plastic(and there have been plenty) that could stand up to mine. Might be a bit cold for that, but just say you're running off the gas if the neighbors come over and ask.

Perhaps a mini claymore type device. Take one of the above explosive ideas and attach a layer of bb's or pebbles or something to it. It should shred the bottle without a problem.

well the problem with the minimore idea is since it is a bottle more than likely none of the BBs will collide with it at a perpendicular angle and then they will just ricochet off into your neighbors cat or that crazy old bat who is always watching you through her blinds with her phone in hand. not that either of these outcomes wouldn't be amusing but they aren't what he's trying to do

Then place the bottle in a hole or depression, or cover it with a metal bucket, or simply do it away from populated areas.

Jeez, some people seem to like being cynical for the sake of it...

I thought the 'minimore' was going to be inside the bottle so every projectile would impact perpendicularly?

I bet any of the methods described here wont be allowed by the sellers or they wont work. IMHO its just a rip-off:)

i believe the warenty on these things claims that they are indestructible in everyday use. now i dont think most people would class wraping it in detcord and blowing the shit out of it everyday use. But this isn't to say that so called indestructible items cant survive explosions.
any UK members who saw braniac this thursday (sky 1, 8pm) will have seen the testing of "indestructible" objects. the items were subjected to two different tests, first of all they were beaten severely with a baseball bat, the surviving items were then locked in a caravan full of weather balloons containging a propane / oxygen mix. the balloons were then ignited and the surving objects collected. out of the 100 or so items that went into the test, the surviving items were: a flak jacket and kevlar helmet + torso and head of manequin wearing it. a set of tin camping mugs. the most impressive survivor was the set of "indestructible" drinking glasses, these survived almost without a scratch

When you mention that TV testing, I remember a Swedish program about "consumer stuff", aimed at younger people, where they once tested Thermos bottles (sp?)
One seller claimed in an interview that their Thermos bottle was indestructible, and that it even could be overrun by a tank...
Guess what method they used to test durability?,
Thats right, they had the bottle overrun by a tank, and I´m pretty sure each and everyone can figure out the results from that test.

The most indestructible object I've encountered so far is the "peep". Yes, those little marshmallow birdies they sell for Easter. Not only are they inedible, but indestructible! We took ours to the pistol range and stuck them on targets... They would happily take hits up to .45 without appreciable damage, they behaved like those expensive plastic "self healing" target discs. We finally got out a shotgun with #8 shot. At 20' range we succeeded in damaging the peeps noticeably, at longer range they shrugged it off. A 12 ga. slug would also remove material, but left the majority of the peep unaffected.

Turn it into a chlorine bomb, those things are usually pretty lethal.

Chlorine bomb? Christ.

I suggest a simple soda bottle salute "Ala" Zero the Inestimable.

1/8" hole, foot of fuse, 4 tablespoons of 4FG blackpowder/Pyrodex.

If it's made out of Nalgene then it'll probably give it up.

For the sake of simplicity why not just try baking soda and vinegar? - it will most likley just pop the lid off, but if the lid holds it should rupture the bottle. There are a bunch of other mixes for pressure bottles - and I know they are lame as hell - but we are talking about blowing up a plastic bottle after all. If that fails just go for an oversize AP det in water - no need to get too exotic its only a plastic bottle. Besides it'll get you extra mileage when you tell your mate it was all accomplised with $5.00 worth of stuff anyone can get :p You just have to be sure you dont mind telling your mate about your hobby - or or could just present him the pieces collect your reward and leave him wondering :D
Im interested to see how it goes anyway - I always like seeing my favorite excuse in action - "because they said I couldnt..."


@Aaron - love your sig. - in answer chaos theory dictates that yes they will - an infinite number of times :p

The problem with Soda Bicarb and Acetic Acid is that the water in the dilute Acetic can absorb some CO2 created IIRC.

On second thoughts since you're doint this for a school the last thing they need to hear is "I just cut some visco cannon fuse off my 100foot roll, put a few tablespoons of black powder from my powder mill...." and you're expelled. Thus I have to say to maintain the appearance of a "normal" non-pyro student go with dry ice and water, any kid work their salt knows that mixture and a teacher would at most just tell you to be careful.

@FragSan, I've had that Sig for 6 months on 3 seperate forums, that's the first time it's been complimented. Thanks. :)

Aaron-V2.0
Read this:Originally posted by Hang-Man
The reward is not run through the school, just a bet my friend made that I couldn't break it. It not run by or through the school, just a bet made with a friend. Back to the topic, I would try filling it with water and putting either a COB or a large electric squib (depending on the size of the neck of the bottle) in it, putting it in the ground (or a large bucket/tub or sand), retreating to a safe distance, and firing it. Yes I know that this method has been mentioned, but it is what I would try. A quick question: how strong is the lid? The reason I ask is because if the lid is perhaps a little flexible, trying to blow it up may just result in the lid popping off without breaching the actual bottle walls, unless of course you use the COB, which would shred it. If it does look like it may blow off before the bottle explodes, then dry ice or other similar methods may not do the trick...

If the bottle is anything like the Nalgene ones I've seen, the cap is not very strong. A friend and I split the cost of one at summer camp (christian brainwash camp full of sissies and evangelistic little pukes), just to see if we could destroy it with nothing but bare hands, and after 45 minutes of smashing it against miscellanious hard objects (hey, nothing else to do anyway), I think I can safely say that they are not indestructible. The cap is just regular plastic, kind of like a thick soda bottle cap, and broke the second or third time it was thrown. The rest of the bottle was seperated into 3 pieces, and had developed several holes before it shattered. Maybe replacing it with a pvc or aluminum threaded endcap would work for a pressure bottle type method.

Here's what I'd try:
Add enough conc. HCl till half, or three-quarters full. Wrap about 70 gms NaHCO3 in some chart paper (less absorbent), roll into a tube form, and shove into the bottle before sealing the cap on it. Run! If the NaHCO3 reacts completely, the bottle will be up against about 20atm. of pressure. I'd also dump the bottle into a tank of water after sealing the lid, so that the HCl does not splatter when the bottle bursts.

Using excess HCl will greatly reduce the solubility of CO2 in the solution, thus creating more pressure.

Keep in mind that the higher the pressure, the higher the solubility of CO2.

Is the bottle airtight? If so, try the implosion method. Stick it upside down in boiling water and let as much air escape as possible. Then quickly dump it in NaCl/H2O at -21C or even better, stick it in dry ice. Also, temperatures around the sublimation point of CO2 will make the Nalgene very brittle.

The liquid Freon idea sounds like a winner to me. I would use liquid nitrogen, or CO2 (can you get this over the counter in the states?), instead.

Get a fair bit in, say 5% full, and the pressure will destroy it as it expands with the warmth. You could tie it on with rope if the top seems weak.

For the best effect, I suggest standing well back, waiting till the bottle bows outwards a fair way, then shoot it with an air rifle. It should shred nicely!

Razorwire may work. You can get it online at security sites ect.
Also, try filling the bottle with something (dense) and then a hammer and chisel might do the trick.
The main point is to make it rigid, as then it can be smashed more eisely by impact.

Al foil and NaOH would generate enough gas (hydrogen) to blow the thing. If the container is strong enough it should make quite a bang too... ;)

If you simply take an ax and smash your bottle with it, while it rests on some thick metal/concrete surface, it is likely to get a tear. Then use leavers or car+chain to tear the whole thing apart. Or how about some calcium carbide+water? Produced acetylene will either rapture the container or get the pressure up and then decompose, either way it is not likely to survive.

Yes, I have no doubt that I *could* break it without using explosives, but I want to blow something up anyway so why not this stupid bottle? I have been very busy with school, and my camera finally died, but fear not a video will be produced.

Just fill it completely with AP....and you'll have your fun :)

Yeehaw! Stuff it with AP! 300 grams atleast!

AP is only used for dets you moron. Using it as the primary charge will greatly reduce your life expectancy.

Why not make a Dryice/Acetone slurry, and keep the bottle in it for a while, then just smash it with a hammer? Doing this is a whole lot easier than trying to get liquid nitrogen or freon if you feel like making it brittle.

Then again..packing the bottle full of PETN would be nice...

I'd be careful not to leave powder burns.

Nalgene is far from invincible. I figured, "to hell with a big explosion" and put a small charge in the bottle (maby 2 grams of of AP packed into a thin copper pipe.) BANG! blew a hole in the bottem and cracked it right up the side. It also launched it in the air several feet, and peppered the inside with copper shrapnal.

AP: one, High Impact plastic: 0.

ever thought of using acetylene?
that will not leave burn marks :)

you need an oxy welding set - only the acetylene part...
1: sit the bottle on a flat surface
2: open the tap slightly and let the acetylene trickle slowly into the bottle (acetylene is heavier than air)
3: when you smell the acetylene coming out the bottle -stop filling it. Put the oxy tanks away.
4: roll up a piece of newspaper and stick it into the end of the bottle
5: light paper and run!

try practicing with first with a plastic softdrink bottle first (about 1 litre size should get you started)
maybe you can think of a safer way to light it but thats what works for me :)

Thats just stupid, if for some reason the burning gasses don't leave singe marks the gas simply burning with the top off would not destroy the bottle. And using some light newspaper is just asking for trouble, it would not work a lot of the time or it would go off early becuase you filled the bottle too high, turbulance etc.