History Main / HairTriggerExplosive

There are powerful explosives, and can blow up almost everything. But Hollywood gives it a nasty drawback: anything can [[StuffBlowingUp make it explode.]] ''Anything''. You have to be super-careful or it will blow up. Or maybe it blows without any apparent reason.

Subtrope of StuffBlowingUp and TheLastStraw. Supertrope of NitroExpress. Also see ExplosiveStupidity when someone doesn't know this. This applied to a car intentionally is MolotovTruck, and unintentionally is EveryCarIsAPinto. Compare/contrast MadeOfExplodium, in which something that should not be explosive explodes anyway. If a nuclear weapon is treated like this, it's ArtisticLicenseNuclearPhysics. In comedic works, the volability of stuff is directly proportional to [[RuleOfFunny how funny]] the consequences of the resulting explosion will be.

[[folder: Comic Book ]]

[[folder: Fan Works]]

--->'''Johnson:''' You will not trigger these things by banging, dropping, or otherwise manhandling them. ''[closes the second case]'' Nevertheless, and I want everyone to hear me very carefully here, you treat this shit as if it were armed, and the slightest jostle could set it off. You treat it, as if the very second you stop respecting it for what it is, that it will kill you.

[[folder: Film ]]

* In ''Film/TheLegendOfZorro'' the villains' plan involves a train full of nitroglycerine. To demonstrate one tosses a small drop onto the floor causing a huge explosion.

[[folder: Literature ]]

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

* ''Series/DoctorWho'': In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS13E3PyramidsOfMars "Pyramids of Mars"]], the Doctor and Sarah happen across a poacher's cache of old, unstable gelignite. Sarah casually tosses it to the Doctor, nearly giving him a hearts-attack, before he warns her of the danger. Because they can't find any fuses, Sarah has to shoot it with a rifle to detonate the explosive. This examples is especially inaccurate, as gelignite does not "sweat" or become unstable with age the way dynamite does, and in fact was developed to have exactly such a feature.

** Despite what video games might have you believe, ExplodingBarrels will not explode if shot with anything less than incendiary rounds from a gatling gun!
** A series of tests was conducted on detonating C4, nearly all of which subverted this trope. The C4 did not detonate when it was burned, stepped on, shot with a variety of bullets, crushed by an anvil, or even when placed under an ignited thermite charge. The only test in which it did detonate was when it was microwaved, but then only when a blasting cap was in place.

[[folder: Tabletop Games ]]

* ''VideoGame/CrashBandicoot'' has Nitro boxes that go off like this. They also bounce randomly as an indication of how volatile they are. TNT is less sensitive than Nitro, as you can touch the side without dying. Hitting the top triggers a 3 second timer, but you can still get killed if you're nearby when it explodes... or if you try to spin it.

[[folder: Web Comics ]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': Zigzagged in [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS6E21ThePTADisbands "The PTA Disbands"]], a tour guide in Fort Springfield is giving a lecture on a "fully restored and in ready to fire condition" Civil War cannon aimed directly at the base of a manned lookout tower. She mentions that these cannons are "''very'' sensitive and that the "''slightest'' jolt" can set them off as the Springfield Elementary bus starts swerving towards the cannon. The bus hits it and... [[Series/FTroop one of the cannon's wheels falls off]].

[[folder: Real Life ]]

* Another hair-trigger explosive is [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_fulminate fulminate of mercury,]] which is used in blasting caps in order to set off other explosives and percussion caps for muskets in the mid 1800s.

* Averted with C4 (which is famous for its stability and inability to go off w/out a blasting cap) and TNT (which is safe and sane; you can burn the stuff in a stove, and it won't explode, you need a detonator to explode TNT). [[https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/fishing-with-grenades-and-cooking-with-c4-a-veterans-vietnam-food-memories-104572114/ Soldiers in the Vietnam War were known to light small pieces of it to heat up MREs.]] Also, high explosives used in military context are always rated for sensitivity to penetration from gunfire - needless to say, insensitive types are preferred and mostly used, so usually you can shoot a HE brick full of holes to no effect. Detonating charges, (blasting caps, fuses etc.) on the other hand, are quite partial to blowing up when shot at.

* In 2014, the British Army claimed that an entire group of insurgents in Afghanistan had been killed by a single bullet, when a British sniper unknowingly shot a suicide bomb vest that one of them was wearing.

** In fact, one method of stopping an atomic bomb is to destroy it with another explosion. The fissile material in an atomic bomb is set off using a very precisely controlled explosion in order to put it under a huge amount of pressure so it will go supercritical. Another explosion will cause it to fail. It will still produce a big explosion, and scatter radioactive material everywhere, but it will be nowhere near as bad as if it had gone off correctly.

There are powerful explosives, and can blow up almost everything. But Hollywood gives it a nasty drawback: anything can [[StuffBlowingUp make it explode.]] And I do mean anything. You have to be super-careful or it will blow up. Or maybe it blows without any apparent reason.

* Averted with nuclear weapons, which usually have [[GenreSavvy a ton of safety mechanisms to prevent them from exploding]]

* ''Franchise/CrashBandicoot'' has Nitro boxes that go off like this. They also bounce randomly as an indication of how volatile they are. TNT is less sensitive than Nitro, as you can touch the side without dying. Hitting the top triggers a 3 second timer, but you can still get killed if you're nearby when it explodes... or if you try to spin it.

* Averted with C4 (which is famous for its stability and inability to go off w/out a blasting cap) and TNT (which is safe and sane; you can burn the stuff in a stove, and it won't explode, you need a detonator to explode TNT). Also, high explosives used in military context are always rated for sensitivity to penetration from gunfire - needless to say, insensitive types are preferred and mostly used, so usually you can shoot a HE brick full of holes to no effect. Detonating charges, (blasting caps, fuses etc.) on the other hand, are quite partial to blowing up when shot at.

* Some of the [[http://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/category/things-i-wont-work-with "Things I Won't Work With"]] category on Derek Lowe's ''[[http://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/ In the Pipeline]]'' are included for this reason. One of the near-definite winners must be [[http://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/2013/01/09/things_i_wont_work_with_azidoazide_azides_more_or_less a yet unnamed compound]] synthesized from N-amino azidotetrazole (which on its own already qualifies), which exploded on every single attempt to move it elsewhere for testing, and whenever they tried to get an infrared spectrum on it. Shining an ''infrared light'' on it set it off. The guy in charge of these tests, Thomas M. Klapötke (who is practically the ''king'' of dealing with these kinds of ultra-sensitive compounds) had to give up on it, because he quite simply couldn't get any meaningful measurement out of it, other than the fact it exploded with ridiculous ease.

* ''Series/DoctorWho'': In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS13E3PyramidsOfMars "Pyramids of Mars"]], the Doctor and Sarah happen across a poacher's cache of old, unstable gelignite. Sarah casually tosses it to the Doctor, nearly giving him a hearts-attack, before he warns her of the danger. Because they can't find any fuses, Sarah has to shoot it with a rifle to detonate the explosive.
** This is incidentally a CriticalResearchFailure, as gelignite cannot "sweat" and become unstable with age the way dynamite does, and in fact was developed as a response to this problem occurring in dynamite.

* All grenades and placed explosives in ''VideoGame/Fallout3'' and ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' explode when shot, even C4. [[AcceptableBreaksFromReality Unrealistically]], but useful if you don't have a detonator--or wants to get fancy and blow up an enemy's grenade in their hand.

Subtrope of StuffBlowingUp and TheLastStraw. Supertrope of NitroExpress. Also see ExplosiveStupidity when someone doesn't know this. This applied to a car intentionally is MolotovTruck, and unintentionally is EveryCarIsAPinto. Compare/contrast MadeOfExplodium, in which something that should not be explosive explodes anyway. If a nuclear weapon is treated like this, it's ArtisticLicenseNuclearPhysics.

* In video games in general, ExplodingBarrels can be usually detonated even by punching or striking them with any melee weapon.
** Grenades and flamethrowers also have a tendency to explode [[FlamethrowerBackfire when the person carrying them dies]], especially in strategy games.
* ''Franchise/CrashBandicoot'' has Nitro boxes that go off like this. They also bounce randomly as an indication of how volatile they are.
** TNT is less sensitive than Nitro, as you can touch the side without dying. Hitting the top triggers a 3 second timer, but you can still get killed if you're nearby when it explodes... or if you try to spin it.
* ''VideoGame/TheIncredibleMachine'' has a vial of nitro as an item. Any impact, even a ''fan'' blowing air against it, can set it off, except one. That's important in one level.
* The two ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'' games on the UsefulNotes/{{Nintendo 64}} have the item "Magical Nitro" which is used in conjunction with "Mandragora" to make an explosive that destroys cracked walls. However, the game cautions that the Nitro is extremely volatile; the player must avoid jumping or being hit by enemy attacks or else the Nitro explodes and instantly kills the character.
* [[ExplodingBarrels Powder Boxes]] in ''VideoGame/{{Spelunky}} HD'' will explode violently when hit by ''anything'', even by otherwise-harmless flying blood drops and shrapnel. Pushing, walking atop, or [[ViolationOfCommonSense jumping on them over and over]] will not set them off; additionally, powder boxes will only explode if they fall more than one tile.
-->'''[[MonsterCompendium Journal]] Entry:''' "It's filled with black powder. Handle with care!"

* ''VideoGame/DeusEx'': Tossing a crate of TNT any significant distance will cause it to explode.

* The mines that you and your opponent can lay in a match of the UsefulNotes/{{Intellivision}} game ''VideoGame/ArmorBattle'' can destroy both your tanks and your opponent's.

* Another hair-trigger explosive is [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_fulminate fulminate of mercury]], which is used in blasting caps in order to set off other explosives and percussion caps for muskets in the mid 1800s.
** And if you think fulminate of mercury is bad, then look at [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_fulminate fulminate of silver]]. It can explode under its own weight.
* There are "contact explosives" (see Wiki/TheOtherWiki) that are almost ridiculously sensitive. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrogen_triiodide Nitrogen triiodide]], when dry, is so sensitive that being exposed to ''alpha radiation'' is enough to detonate it.
* Averted with C4 (which is famous for its stability and inability to go off w/out a blasting cap) and TNT (which is safe and sane; you can burn the stuff in a stove, and it won't explode, you need a detonator to explode TNT). Also, high explosives used in military context are always rated for sensitivity to penetration from gunfire - needless to say, insensitive types are preferred and mostly used, so usually you can shoot a HE brick full of holes to no effect. Detonating charges (blasting caps, fuses etc.), on the other hand, are quite partial to blowing up when shot at.

* In WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddparents, Timmy's Dad runds 2 sticks of dynamite together trying to make a fire. The sticks explode instead.

* Subverted on ''Series/MythBusters''. They were testing out the myth that a defibrillator could cause a nitroglycerin patch to explode. It was soundly busted.

** TNT is less sensitive than Nitro, as in you can touch the side without dying. Hitting the top triggers the 3 second timer, but you can still get killed if you're nearby when it explodes... or if you try to spin it.
* ''VideoGame/TheIncredibleMachine'' has a vial of nitro as an item. Any impact even a ''fan'' blowing air against it can set it off, except one. That's important in one level.

* [[ExplodingBarrels Powder Boxes]] in ''VideoGame/{{Spelunky}} HD'' will explode violently when hit by ''anything'', even by flying blood drops and shrapnel that are generally harmless. About all that doesn't set them off is pushing them and walking on top of them; just be careful about your surroundings. [[note]]Interestingly, a powder box can be dropped ''one'' tile and not explode.[[/note]]

* ''Franchise/CrashBandicoot'' has Nitro boxes that go off like this. They also bounce randomly.
** TNT is less sensitive than nitro, as in you can touch the side without dying. Hitting the top triggers the timer, but you can still kill yourself like it's nitro.

* There are "contact explosives" (see TheOtherWiki) that are almost ridiculously sensitive. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrogen_triiodide Nitrogen triiodide]], when dry, is so sensitive that being exposed to ''alpha radiation'' is enough to detonate it.

->'''Sarah:''' Aha! This looks like it! ''[throws a box to the Doctor, who freezes in place]'' What's wrong; not enough?
->'''Doctor:''' Sweaty-gelignite-is highly-unstable. One good sneeze could set it off. ''[carefully puts the box on the floor]''
->'''Sarah:''' Sorry.
->'''Doctor:''' No sign of any detonators or fuses?
->'''Sarah:''' No, no, nothing else. Perhaps he sneezed?
-->-- ''Series/DoctorWho'', "The Pyramids of Mars"

* Played straight and later subverted in ''Film/DieHardWithAVengeance''. The liquid/gelled binary explosive used in the movie, PLX, actually exists but neither looks like it does in the movie nor does it explode on impact (instead requiring at least a blasting cap). It's also certainly not energetic enough that the amount collected on the tip of a ''paper clip'' would be enough to flip a chair. Seen later on, the actual bombs made with it feature more realistic amounts of priming explosives.

* Briefly discussed in the children's novel ''Ghost Town Adventure''. Abe Winters, mayor of the eponymous ghost town, tells the children about a time one of his burros had fallen down a cliff while packing a load of dynamite. Chuck (the youngest) asks if the burro blew up and Abe says no, all that happened was the burro got a bruise on its tailbone.

** The ''Series/BreakingBad'' scene listed below was busted. When the mercury fulminate didn't detonate when thrown, the guest stars from the show tried to {{handwave}} by saying Walt had also used a bit of silver fulminate.

* Arzt from ''{{Series/Lost}}'' dies when he waves a stick of TNT too roughly and it detonates in his hand. [[DeathByIrony Ironically enough]], he was in the middle of a lecture on how to handle dynamite safely.

* In ''Series/BreakingBad'', Walt throws a handful of mercury fulminate on the ground and it explodes, causing major damage to the room.
* In the ''Series/DoctorWho'' episode "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS13E3PyramidsOfMars Pyramids of Mars]]", the Doctor and Sarah happen across a poacher's cache of old, unstable gelignite. Sarah casually tosses it to the Doctor, nearly giving him a hearts-attack, before he warns her of the danger. Because they can't find any fuses, Sarah has to shoot it with a rifle to detonate the explosive.
** This is incidentally a CriticalResearchFailure, as gelignite cannot "sweat" and become unstable with age the way dynamite does, and in fact was developed as a response to this problem occurring in dynamite.
* In ''Series/AlloAllo'', chickens are accidentally fed grain laced with nitroglycerine (instead of gin). The hens explode one after another from the strain of egg-laying. The cockerel's attentions are sufficient to provoke the final hen into blowing up the hen house. The cockerel survives.
-->'''Rene:''' You are looking at a living legend.

[[folder: Truth In Television ]]

** Before that, a bite of that pie is enough to blow up Mr. Krab's office when that hits the ground.