History

A Brief History of Spud Guns

Version 1:

A long time ago, fabled to be about 40 years, somewhere (in America of course) some middle-aged guys were bored so gathered up a bunch of beer cans (they were steel back then), duct tape, gasoline, and at least one tennis ball. Both ends of all cans were removed save one, from which only the bottom was removed; the peel-top hole end was left as is.

Legend has it that it was suggested that if all these cans were securely taped together to make a long tube, the tennis ball could be stuck down it muzzle loader style and fired by putting a small amount of gasoline in the bottom can (with the hole lid as the breech) and one brave soul (the one that had consumed the most beers) holding a lit match or lighter near the peel-top hole. Miraculously the tennis ball was expelled with great velocity. Much whooping and hollering ensued, and the device was promptly reloaded to verify the first shot was not a fluke. Hence the backyard cannon was born.

The earliest recorded use of actual potatoes being fired from a pneumatic cannon involves the British World War 2 Holman Projector, a pneumatic device mounted on convoy vessels intended to project hand grenades which would deter enemy aircraft from coming too close. In moments of boredom these devices were loaded with potatoes and used for impromptu wargames with friendly ships.

Version 2:

It appears that Alessandro Volta (as in Volt) built the first electrically fired combustion "spud gun" in the 1780's;

The "electric-phlogopneumatic" pistol was thought up by Volta. It was generally filled with a mixture of hydrogen and air, and then corked up. One of the electrodes was touched with one hand; the other hand touched one of the poles of an electrostatic machine. When the spark went off between them and also inside the pistol, a loud explosion resulted which violently shot out the cork. As Volta himself wrote, these experiments "stupefied the ordinary observer, caused considerable satisfaction among amateurs and those in the know, for these are experiments combining electricity and inflammable air". They responded to the double requirement, which was popular at the time, of "being showy" and of popularizing the latest scientific results.

(from [1], see also [2] and [3])

Apparently, even eighteenth century scientists enjoyed launching random things, with accompanying loud noises, for the shear joy of doing it. So spudders, when asked, you can describe your hobby as "Following in the footsteps of great scientists like Alessandro Volta". --Jimmy101 13:11, 10 May 2007 (EDT)