Last week we told you about the airplane museum that learned a plane on exhibit for 60 years was still filled with volatile fuel that could explode. The fuel was removed safely. Last Friday, Jan. 11, 2013, workers in New York’s Central Park found that a Revolutionary War cannon owned by the park was still loaded with gunpowder and a cannonball. The New York bomb squad was called. Squad members tilted the barrel of the cannon, and the cannonball rolled out. Then they removed over a pound of gunpowder. It could have exploded. As we said last week, be careful with any antiques that could hold gunpowder or other explosives. They can explode if moved carelessly.
Photo: AP/CNN | NYPD
Years ago, I was visiting Horta on the island of Faial in the Azores and discovered a similar story. While refurbishing the old fort into into a very nice hotel and bar, workers discovered that at least one of the cannons facing the harbor was fully loaded and had been for some time. Said my host: “If it had gone off and hit a Russian ship . . .”