GUEST Blind said: "Snuffy! Dyanmite don't work that way. You gotta light it."

Au contraire, mon frere! What dynamite is, is nitroglycerine absorbed in fullers earth. Nitroglycerine itself is VERY unstable, and the function of the fuller's earth is to damp that shock sensitivity down. If it's fresh and has been stored right dynamite is fairly stabl. When stored it has to be turned over from time to time, as the nitroglycerine settles to the lower side over time, and it gets more sensitive.

In normal usage, one has to insert a blasting cap in the end of the stick of dynamite. When the blasting cap is set of (by fuse or by electricity), the resulting explosion sets off the dynamite.

But if the dynamite is old and/or hasn't been stored right, dropping it is dangerous.

Dave Oesterreich