Well officer, I was just driving along minding my own business when...

[W7JZE]

! BAM !

That manhole cover ATTACKED my car!

Amazing amount of energy here:

http://now.msn.com/now/0429-manhole-flips-car.aspx

I wonder how HIGH the cover would have flown if the car had not been in the way?

Evidently, manhole covers blowing off occur not only in Russia, but SF, CA has this problem as well.

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?sec...sco&id=7791686

Whoda thunk it?

[W4HAY]

The needle on my BS-O-Meter(tm) isn't pegging, but it sure is jiggling around.

One would expect there would be more of a flash or ejection of smoke/vapor from such a sudden release of energy.

[KK4AMP]

I think MSN needs to do some (more) fact checking.

Other reports state the manhole cover was missing and the front SUV tire simply hit the hole, causing the hilarity that ensued. Look closely at 0:20 to 0:21 and you'll see it dipping in.


...and W7JZE, nice avatar you've got there. Did you find it off the shoulder of Orion?

[W7JZE]

I think MSN needs to do some (more) fact checking.

Other reports state the manhole cover was missing and the front SUV tire simply hit the hole, causing the hilarity that ensued. Look closely at 0:20 to 0:21 and you'll see it dipping in.


...and W7JZE, nice avatar you've got there. Did you find it off the shoulder of Orion?

Thank you AMP . I actually found it on a c-beam, glittering in the dark near the Tannhäuser gate .

The picture is available from many sources of course. I added the words. Chilling soliloquy. Never fails to give me goosebumps when I watch it performed. Rumor is that Rudgear Hauer himself word-smithed (ad-libbed?) the final wording. I've seen at least one version of the screenplay where the words were somewhat different. Although screenplays seem to be modified often! Sometimes "on the fly", sometime during the delivery of the verbiage, I am told (I am not in the business but one relative is has produced a few).

On Topic: Hmmm... I had not thought of that possibility (open manhole). Not sure on the replay at 0:13 and the other view at 0:20. It "looks" like the left front tire tracks to the left of the hole, missing it, but I sure could be wrong... Your idea sure SEEMS like a better answer than an exploding manhole cover. THAT amount of energy release seems like it should have been accompanied with SOME other visual cue, like HAY also mentions above.

The SF, CA manhole cover explosions sure had plenty of fire and smoke when they blew off.

Thanks for the Avatar compliment and the idea.

[N0SYA]

Great, now terrs will use manhole covers to make efp's.

[KF5FEI]

Meh. The one in Minnesota was much better -- the manhole cover was big enough to stop the car.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jp7zLbBs0Rc

[VE1IDX]

Take another real good look at the video using PLAY/PAUSE to step through it. The manhole cover does appear to be there before the vehicle passes over it and ghone after. Youcan just see it in the veryu bottom of the video at about 19-21 seconds in. The vehicle [plainly nose dives AFTER passing it.

[KC9UDX]

The needle on my BS-O-Meter(tm) isn't pegging, but it sure is jiggling around.

In Russia, BS-O-Meter watch YOU peg!

[W7JZE]

Meh. The one in Minnesota was much better -- the manhole cover was big enough to stop the car.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jp7zLbBs0Rc

Y I K E S ! What the heck was THAT?

1) The water explosion was spectacular!

2) The manhole cover was HUGE-MOUNGOUS!

3) It looked bigger around, than the car/truck that hit it was wide! It had to be a couple thousand pounds, I'd think... And just tossed aside like that. WoW!

4) PS: I would NOT have hung around my car/truck after that water explosion, like that owner did! One more water burst like THAT and it would be sayanora, baby.

Whew... thanks for that post, FEI. Scary stuff.