Boy, 14, blows himself up

yebocan

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Cape Town - Chauncey Davids was a curious schoolboy who loved doing experiments. But, on Thursday, a test using a plastic container, a bottle of Brut deodorant and a cigarette lighter went horribly wrong for the 14-year-old, who died in an explosion at his Westridge home on Thursday.

The Grade 9 pupil at Mondale High School in Mitchells Plain returned home from school on Wednesday excited about an experiment he had seen at school.

His mom, Beverley Davids, told the Cape Argus on Thursday that Chauncey wanted to show it to her.

It is thought to be similar to the “woomf bottle” experiment in which gas or alcohol is poured into a bottle and lit, causing a woomf of flame.

She suspected that he may have seen other pupils do it and wanted to try it himself.

“I told him to put the deodorant down and that he couldn’t use a lighter.

Copy of Copy of ca p1 Chauncey Davids done
SUPPLIED
“He later asked his father when he returned from work and both of us said no.”

Davids said Chauncey asked her again on Thursday, when the school was closed for Ascension Day, and again she refused.

“His dad told him to clean the garden. Before I went upstairs I saw him in the front yard and I asked my daughter to close the door.”

Minutes later she heard an odd noise.

“I was upstairs when I heard popping sounds as the windows of the spare room in the back yard shattered. In my mind he was still in the front yard. I thought maybe there had been a short circuit that caused the fire.”

Davids said she ran outside and reached for the hose to extinguish the flames.

“I was opening the tap when I thought that he could help me, so I went to the front yard and called his name over and over.

“An 18-year-old neighbour ran to the back yard to try to help with the fire. When he quickly returned I could see on his face that it was Chauncey.

“Until that moment I never thought that it could be him.”

Davids added that Chauncey’s 10-year-old sister was angry because she told him not to take the lighter.



Teachers, neighbours and family poured into the Davids home in Cypress Way on Thursday night to pay their respects.

Jeannette Bailey, his former teacher at Harvester Primary school, said that Chauncey was a bright student.

“He was a good student and also very curious, trying new experiments all the time.”

Provincial education ministry spokeswoman Bronagh Casey said the Western Cape Education Department was investigating the matter. Once details of the pupil and school had been confirmed, counselling would be provided to classmates.

“We would like to convey our condolences to the family and friends.”

Police spokesman Captain FC van Wyk said an inquest docket had been opened and that no foul play was suspected.

[email protected]

Cape Argus














http://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/western-cape/boy-14-blows-himself-up-1.1696103#.U4gyt_mSzXo
 
5h1t like that used to happen all the time when I was in school
 
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Wow. Did he put the thing down on a tank of LPG to cause that?

Granted. I once helped a friend build a pipe-bomb in his dad's workshop, and then we left the final ingredients for the next day and went home.
Next morning he was not at school. He was grounded after it spontaneously exploded in the middle of the night and blew out all the windows and a hole in the roof and table. No one was injured and he took all the blame and didn't tell them about my involvement:whistle: I owed him big time for that. But that was with gunpowder ans stuff, not deodorant and a lighter.:wtf:
 
We can't give kids hidings anymore but we can sure as hell show them how to create bombs at school.
 
Poor basterd, the family must be in shock. Thought he was on a Jihad mission when I read the title.
 
With a name like that...I would also be doing explosive experiments.
 
RIP kid.

My Dad used to burn a lot of our rubbish (something to do with being poor growing up I suppose) and then one day he told me to go burn a box with some papers and other stuff in it. Being a cocky teenager, of course I told him we should just throw it away and he got pissed off and told me to do as he said.

So I go to the back yard, start it burning and walk away. I've barely walked a few meters when I hear a bang and I *** myself. I wait for the fire to die down and I see there's the remains of a can of deodorant.

My Mom got so pissed with him for that.
 
poor laaitjie...- If I think back all the crap I use to experiment with, and get away with....- Once mixed potassium permanganate and glycerin, in a closed bottle....thank the gods, the top was cork and popped out once the reaction started....splattered crap all over the place, got a blikseming for that....
 
My dad's cousin died like this about 45 years ago. He and a few friends poured a little petrol into a 25Ltr drum and his cousin threw a match in. My dad and the other bloke were fine but his cousin was killed instantly. RIP guy.
 
I remember burning myself with phosphorus a few times. The good old days.
 
RIP.

I feel for the kid, because I was also a curious little **** at that age. Made all sorts of explosive things, but was lucky enough to walk away from them relatively unscathed.
 
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