In light of the recent arrest of Ahmed Mohamed arrest for bringing a DIY clock to school, I thought I should share some of my own history of juvenile "science" experiments.
Unlike Ahmed, I really did make bombs...in middle and high school. Gasoline bombs, learned to make gunpowder...then moved up to bigger and better booms. Even made some fertilizer bombs that started getting scary big.
Here's a fire hazard for you. When I was a sophomore, in chemistry class, I collected several balloons of lab gas to blow up after school. Put them in my locker. As it turns out, lab gas cannot be contained by a ballon, and they slowly deflated filling my locker.
When I came back and found the balloons deflated, I threw a match at my locker and got a small fireball. It was cool.
I was a pyro...but not a terrorist. My targets were mostly out in the fields where I thought my parents wouldn't catch me.
Was it dangerous and stupid...damn straight it was.
Today, I am a Ph.D. in a science-like field (archaeology)--and here's the truth...almost every adult scientist I know blew shit up as kid. Or built an unlicensed nuclear reactor, or hacked a website, or something or other.
Ahmed made a clock! They should be happy it wasn't a bomb...and even if it was a bomb, they shouldn't assume he made for any reason other than good old fashioned fun.
I just want everyone to understand that kids are kids, and nerdy kids are still kids. They make and do dumb things, and occasionally shoot their eye out. Ahmed didn't even do that. He made a clock while Muslim.
So, fellow scientists (and fellow travelers), what youthful science indescretions did you do?