Bare-handed bottle smash

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By Phillip Torrone
Posted 2007/08/27 @ 8:00 am
Category Science

Amasci shows you how to pop the bottom off of most glass bottles with your bare hands.

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4 Responses to Bare-handed bottle smash

fej25 on August 27th, 2007 at 10:46 am said:

This can be dangerous

I used to do this trick all the time at parties in college. However, during one (the last) time the bottle broke unevenly and smashed in my hand. I had to have surgery in the ER to repair the damaged tendon, and I have a huge scar on my left ring finger as a result.

So, if you attempt this at home, be warned, glass is extremely sharp. This trick isn’t worth the risk, and I no longer perform it.

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wbeaty on August 27th, 2007 at 5:59 pm said:

> I had to have surgery in the ER to repair the damaged tendon,

I’ve just heard reports that WEARING A RING CAN SHATTER THE BOTTLE NECK. Obviously the cavitation might also shatter the entire bottle starting at the bottom. Sometimes glass isn’t properly annealed, so the first crack can trigger release of internal strain. But this should happen well after your hand has bounced off the bottle top. So I’m confused.

I wonder… are injuries caused by shattering glass? Or are they caused by metal finger rings unexpectedly cracking the bottle neck while your hand is striking downwards?

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fej25 on August 28th, 2007 at 5:56 am said:

I never wore a ring, and it wasn’t the hand that was hitting the bottle that got injured, it was the hand HOLDING the bottle. Once you break the bottom out of the bottle, the structural integrity of the bottle goes down to nothing. Its very flimsy, and you need to grip the bottle pretty hard in the first place. After it broke, my hand crushed the bottle.

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wbeaty on August 28th, 2007 at 10:40 pm said:

> it wasn’t the hand that was hitting the bottle that got injured.

Understood. I’ll add more warnings.

Perhaps a bit of the danger could be avoided if I always held the bottle only by the neck, and as near the top as possible.

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