Perhaps the WRONG way to kill a spider...
By Laura Roberts
Published: 2:28PM BST 31 Aug 2010
Man blows himself up trying to kill a spider
It is not known if the spider survived REUTERS
The 28 year-old suffered severe burns after attacking the arachnid with an aerosol can at his home in Clacton in Essex.
The man was summoned by his wife to deal with a spider she had seen scuttling behind the lavatory on Bank Holiday Monday. Not being able to reach it, the man decided to kill it by spraying it with the can.
However he was unable to see whether it was dead because the bulb in the bathroom light had blown. At this point he turned to a cigarette lighter to illuminate the room, but in the process ignited the gas fumes and caused an explosion.
The blast was so strong it blew the man off his feet and lifted the loft door off its hinges.
He suffered flash burns to his head, legs and torso and was rushed by ambulance to hospital after dousing himself in cold water.
A spokesman for Essex Fire Service said: "It appears the wife had spotted the creepy crawly in the bathroom and asked her husband to capture it.
"He sprayed it first with an aerosol where it was lurking behind the toilet bowl and when that didn't appear to work, he lit up his lighter to spread some light on the situation as the bathroom bulb had blown.
"There was an almighty explosion which blew the man back into his hallway and lifted the hatch on the loft.
"He did exactly the right thing by jumping into the shower and cooling his burns with cold water while his wife raised the alarm."
Firefighters administered emergency first aid at the scene while waiting for ambulance teams to arrive.
A spokesman added: "We're not entirely sure whether the spider got away or not but there was no sign of it at the scene."
Ambulance crews treated the man for burns to his arms, legs and face and breathing difficulties and he was taken to the Colchester General Hospital, in Essex, where he was given pain relief and discharged in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
In June last year Simon Elsey, 40, from Rotherham, suffered severe burns after a can of hairspray exploded at his home. The canister had been left on top of a children's fireguard in front of a lit fire in the sitting room. The blast was so powerful it blew out two window panes and the can was found embedded in the ceiling. Mr Elsey had been asleep in the sitting room at the time and firefighters said he was lucky not to be engulfed in flames.
Hiker shoots himself in the a$$
This town is about 2 hour's drive north of where I live. The poor guy will never live this one down.
Hiker accidentally shoots himself in the rear
updated 8/31/2010 3:31:32 PM ET
WENATCHEE, Wash. — A hiker on Blewett Pass shot himself in the butt when he put a handgun in his back pocket. The Chelan County sheriff's office said the 52-year-old Snohomish man had moved his .40-caliber handgun from its holster to his back pocket Saturday to see if that position would be more comfortable.
The Wenatchee World reported the gun fired the bullet down his left buttock and left leg, coming to rest just above the knee. He was treated at Central Washington Hospital in Wenatchee.
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Information from: The Wenatchee World, http://www.wenatcheeworld.com
Man crosses Irish Sea in a bathtub
1 September 2010 Last updated at 15:20 ET
Mervyn Kinkead crosses Irish Sea in a bath
BBC Mervyn salied to Portpatrick in his modified bath
https://theultimatejeep.com/images/i...36_bath4-4.jpg
At an age when many people are thinking about how to get in and out of the bath, Mervyn Kinkead has put his own tub to a use which belies his advancing years.
The 65-year-old from Lisburn has become the first man to cross the Irish Sea in a bath.
With only a relatively minor hiccup along the way, Mervyn covered the 19 nautical miles from Donaghadee across to Portpatrick in about eight hours.
The problem arose when the bath, probably used to being filled, began to take in water about three miles out of Portpatrick.
However it was soon righted, and Mervyn made it across to Scotland shortly before nightfall.
"It all began as a bit of a joke," Mervyn told BBC district reporter Claire Savage.
"Then someone said about doing it for charity so I thought I had better do it."
The adventurous admiral admitted to feeling like a celebrity when a crowd gathered in Portpatrick to herald his damp arrival.
However, his pride in his achievement does not equate to certainty over whether he would repeat the trip.
"I am glad it is all over. I would do it again - well, I would consider doing it again!"