TGIS: Thank God It's Schadenfreude! (256)

This week's joy in the misfortune of others comes courtesy of The Detroit Free Press (from Monday, February 1; link good at time of posting):

A 62-year-old Independence Township man hosting an outdoor winter party in his backyard was rushed to the hospital Sunday night after the explosive backpack he rigged to power him on a sled exploded, police said.

....

“Apparently, he has this sledding party every year, and he always does outrageous things at it, but he’s never blown himself up before,” [Oakland County Undersheriff Mike] McCabe said today. Before the mishap, the man had been drinking, he said.

The man is thought to have constructed the backpack from a used automotive muffler, which he filled with gasoline and gunpowder, “trying to get a rocket-launch effect,” McCabe said.

“He asked another person to light a wick and then began to sled down a hill. At some point during the ride, the device exploded,” he said. The man suffered second-degree burns to his face and right side of his body, and possible eye injuries, according to a police memo. He was rushed to POH Medical Center in Pontiac where he was in stable condition today, McCabe said.

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