9781422285015

precariously tilted at a 45-degree angle. When the thermos fell, it would spill the glycerin into a pan of potassium permanganate. The substance has many uses, including removing the “rotten egg” smell from well water. By themselves, the ingredients were harm- less. When mixed together, however, they were explosive. Holmes also poured oil and gas on the apartment’s carpet to fuel the flames. Moreover, Holmes had placed on the top of his refrigerator a box packed with six-inch shells at- tached to several black balls filled with gunpowder,

A remote control car like this one was used by the bomber to booby-trap his explosives-packed apartment.

gas, and oil. Holmes wired the box with a detonator made from a toy remote con- trol. He put the remote and the toy car it controlled out- side near a trash bin. Holmes wanted someone to find and play with the remote control car, which would have set off a blast inside the building.

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