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Violent death of a cache


Guest arffer

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Guest breaktrack

Hooookay.... what a deal! As a former member of a bomb squad, and having dealt with quite a few improvised munitions (home-made bombs), I can only say to those of you who bandy about the term "paranoid officials" you have obviously never had to wander up on a suspicious package and deal with it from the aspect of it being very likely that it will kill or maim you if you make the wrong assessment. First let me say that "blowing up the package" is a misnomer, the most common way such small packages are opened up is with a water cannon (non-explosive method) or with a single blasting cap placed on top of the container and detonated to simply open it up. Believe me, with most things in the class of "Tupperware" a blasting cap will open it up just fine and actually do very little, if any, damage to the contents.

 

For those of you that say, "But it was clearly labled as a cache!" Okay, I understand, but, you don't. Improvised munitions are the single most dangerous things that bomb techs deal with outside of pipe bombs. Not military bombs, not mines, not regular everyday explosives. Home-made stuff is extremely dangerous and is only limited by a person's imagination. Folks, when you call out the bomb squad, or even the police, it is their JOB to be a bit paranoid. They have to do this every day, and they get to do it again tomorrow because they survived TODAY! Are you saying they are supposed to risk a small tupperware package taking their hand off because it said on the outside "I'm safe, you have absolutely nothing to worry about and here's a website where you can check to see that I'm telling the truth!"

 

I don't think so.....

 

It sounds to me that circustances simply led to this cache being blasted, so what? It is an extremely small incident in the larger scheme of things. It doesn't sound like anyone did anything really wrong here, from the cachers side or the police side, it just seems like people's sensibilities were offended by them mean old police taking the safe way out and popping that poor defenseless tupperware, LOL. So be it. I sure hope they'll do the same thing next time in the same circumstances rather than let OTHER people's paranoia get them hurt by not being as safe as possible while doing a dangerous job.

 

Thanks for letting me vent... LOL.

 

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Single dad looking for, dang, what the heck was I looking for again??? Where's my GPS?

 

[This message has been edited by breaktrack (edited 08 January 2002).]

 

[This message has been edited by breaktrack (edited 08 January 2002).]

 

[This message has been edited by breaktrack (edited 08 January 2002).]

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Guest Choberiba

breaktrack: Thanks for letting me vent... LOL.

 

I said it last September and I'll say it again in 2010 if I have to.

 

I'd blow up* pretty much any object before risking the life of another humen. It's important to take good care of stuff, but not *that* important.

 

*Yes, even my inflate-o-friend

--

If they gave out a medal for extreme caution under cover I would send someone to receive it for me.

- Don "Bear" Richards

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Guest arffer

Breaktrack,

 

Well, you could always use your GPSR to get the coordinates of the suspicious package, then submit it as a cache. One of us would be over in nothing flat to open it for you.

 

This post is made in the name of irony, and to get us to at least THINK before we open everything we come across.

 

------------------

Team CacheCows of Wisconsin

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I saw something interesting in the paper here in Tampa, FL. Someone called the police and said a child was buried on a local beach. So the authorities ran out to the site to find a mound of sand and a sign stuck in it saying here lies a kid. Well the authorities quickly dig up the large box open it and POOF!!! They get sprayed by a skunk that had been buried there!!!! Strange indeed and funny!!!!!! You never know what's out there.

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Guest Mana User

Of course, it was not only clearly labeled, but clear. But what

really got me was their attitude. Was it "Oh, a 'geocache' huh? Sorry.

Next time we see one I guess we won't have to worry."? No. It was, "Look

what you did! This was your fault! Remove all your caches and tell

everyone else to do the same!!"

 

If they can't tell clear plastic container full of erasers and such from a bomb,

and it get's destroyed, no big deal. But it was their mistake, rudeness

to the unlucky tupperware owner is uncalled for.

 

On a less rant-y more constructive note, here's an idea that might help

avoid a repeat. If someone could set up "geocache hotline" number to be

writen on caches maybe someone would be more likely to take the time to

call a phone number than visit a web address during a "crisis".

Obviously a live person standing by 24 hours a day would be best, but a

simple recording would help.

 

Official Geocache Site (if it's Official it must have right to

be there. icon_wink.gif)

Call 1-800-GEOCACHE for info (No idea what that number will

really get you)

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Guest Mana User

Of course, it was not only clearly labeled, but clear. But what

really got me was their attitude. Was it "Oh, a 'geocache' huh? Sorry.

Next time we see one I guess we won't have to worry."? No. It was, "Look

what you did! This was your fault! Remove all your caches and tell

everyone else to do the same!!"

 

If they can't tell clear plastic container full of erasers and such from a bomb,

and it get's destroyed, no big deal. But it was their mistake, rudeness

to the unlucky tupperware owner is uncalled for.

 

On a less rant-y more constructive note, here's an idea that might help

avoid a repeat. If someone could set up "geocache hotline" number to be

writen on caches maybe someone would be more likely to take the time to

call a phone number than visit a web address during a "crisis".

Obviously a live person standing by 24 hours a day would be best, but a

simple recording would help.

 

Official Geocache Site (if it's Official it must have right to

be there. icon_wink.gif)

Call 1-800-GEOCACHE for info (No idea what that number will

really get you)

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Guest Mana User

quote:
Originally posted by arffer:

Capricorn Florist Llc

120 College St

Middletown, CT


 

"hello Capricorn Florist? Would you mind answering a few calls from the bomb squad for us now and then?" icon_wink.gif

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Guest Mana User

quote:
Originally posted by arffer:

Capricorn Florist Llc

120 College St

Middletown, CT


 

"hello Capricorn Florist? Would you mind answering a few calls from the bomb squad for us now and then?" icon_wink.gif

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Guest web-ling

quote:
Originally posted by Mana User:

"hello Capricorn Florist? Would you mind answering a few calls from the bomb squad for us now and then?" icon_wink.gif


...and please send flowers. My cache just died.

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Guest web-ling

quote:
Originally posted by Mana User:

"hello Capricorn Florist? Would you mind answering a few calls from the bomb squad for us now and then?" icon_wink.gif


...and please send flowers. My cache just died.

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Guest highpointer

Originally posted by arffer:

I remember a few years back when airport security blew up some kid's Sony Playstation he got for Christmas and had in his luggage. Blow up first, ask questions and think later.

 

Where did this occur? Did the kid or his parents get any compensation for the Sony Playstation that airport security destroyed?

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Guest dylanhayes

in with.

Also, what I have taken to doing is to write on the container my mobile (cellphone) number. Hopefully that way anybody who didn't know what it was would call this number first rather than the police.

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Guest dylanhayes

Well, here in the UK bombs have been a fact of life for a long long time. As yet no geocaches have been 'disarmed' by explosive ordinance disposal teams. Some of this might be due to the comparitive rariety of geocaches and the comparitive frequency of real bombs. In general the sort of bomb people here are most worried about are car bombs which are obviously difficult to mistake for geocaches. Other bombs have been hidden in trash cans (which is why there are no trash cans on the London Underground), under bridges and near to target locations.

 

So think in reverse and consider "let's put this in a place a terrorist wouldn't never want to plant a bomb". Thus, at risk of stating the obviously avoid placing geocaches near military installations, places where VIPs are known to pass or anything of strategic importance particularly where a security sweep would be likely to discover the cache (some high profile outdoor events are preceded by a sweep that involves looking in all the nearby possible hiding places for bombs). Also make sure the location isn't under CCTV surveillance, as the CCTV operators might see cachers wandering around looking for something and consider that to be suspicious activity.

 

Making the cache look harmless is sensible, but it's even better to make sure that the gecocache is never found by non cachers to begin with. I would recommend making it *really* hard for a non cacher to stumble on it, as they will be the sort of person who would call the police to begin with.

Also, what I have taken to doing is to write on the container my mobile (cellphone) number. Hopefully that way anybody who didn't know what it was would call this number first rather than the police.

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Guest niskibum

Just because your paranoid doesn't mean that everybody isn't out to get you!

 

Or to quote Woody Allen in the jade scorpion there's a word for people who think everyone is out to get them--perceptive.

 

------------------

If you cache it, they will come.

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Guest GeoMacbeth

quote:
No sane person would blow a package that contained just a notepad, some pencils and/or pens and some small gift if it could be easily seen from the outside.

 

You assume that the country is currently populated by sane people.

 

 

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Hey! What happened to my sattelites?!?

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Guest memorylapse

quote:
Originally posted by ggaspari:

Yeah, and maybe some fireworks-grade gunpowder would provide a nice finale also (just kidding icon_smile.gif

 

But even with see-through containers, there are items that should not be used, like:

 

- Alarm clock

- Wires

- Baby powder, flour, etc

- ANYTHING with arabic sayings

- bin-Whatever photos

- a note saying "Allah is great"

 

BTW I hope you take this post lightly. It's for you to LAUGH, ok? icon_smile.gif

 

 


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Guest memorylapse

quote:
Originally posted by ggaspari:

Yeah, and maybe some fireworks-grade gunpowder would provide a nice finale also (just kidding icon_smile.gif

 

But even with see-through containers, there are items that should not be used, like:

 

- Alarm clock

- Wires

- Baby powder, flour, etc

- ANYTHING with arabic sayings

- bin-Whatever photos

- a note saying "Allah is great"

 

BTW I hope you take this post lightly. It's for you to LAUGH, ok? icon_smile.gif

 

 


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Guest memorylapse

quote:
Originally posted by ggaspari:

Yeah, and maybe some fireworks-grade gunpowder would provide a nice finale also (just kidding icon_smile.gif

 

But even with see-through containers, there are items that should not be used, like:

 

- Alarm clock

- Wires

- Baby powder, flour, etc

- ANYTHING with arabic sayings

- bin-Whatever photos

- a note saying "Allah is great"

 

BTW I hope you take this post lightly. It's for you to LAUGH, ok? icon_smile.gif

 

 


 

Fuji puts their film in clear containers. Now, you can even place your micro-caches in a clear container. [ tongue.gif ]

 

Se Ya!

- MemoryLapse

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Guest memorylapse

quote:
Originally posted by ggaspari:

Yeah, and maybe some fireworks-grade gunpowder would provide a nice finale also (just kidding icon_smile.gif

 

But even with see-through containers, there are items that should not be used, like:

 

- Alarm clock

- Wires

- Baby powder, flour, etc

- ANYTHING with arabic sayings

- bin-Whatever photos

- a note saying "Allah is great"

 

BTW I hope you take this post lightly. It's for you to LAUGH, ok? icon_smile.gif

 

 


 

Fuji puts their film in clear containers. Now, you can even place your micro-caches in a clear container. [ tongue.gif ]

 

Se Ya!

- MemoryLapse

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