Thermonuclear Kitchen Accident

It turns out you never know when your neighbor might be cooking up a little thermonuclear device. According to the AP story at the link above, a Swedish man “had tried for months to set up a nuclear reactor at home and kept a blog about his experiments, describing how he created a small meltdown on his stove.”

When he realized creating “a small meltdown” in his kitchen might be illegal, he asked Sweden’s Radiation Authority, which responded by sending the police. The man had radium, americium and uranium in his apartment when he was arrested.

Possibly he got the idea from this video, which demonstrates how to split atoms with a bottle cap, two paperclips, a quarter and a small magnet.

Note to The Department of Homeland Security: consider directing the TSA to confiscate quarters at airport security checks. This will make the Department self-funding, and reduce the possibility of small meltdowns during flight.