VENTURA, California (AP) -- A teacher who kept a 40 mm shell on his desk as a paperweight blew off part of his hand when he apparently used the object to try to squash a bug, authorities say.

The 5-inch-long shell exploded Monday while Robert Colla was teaching 20 to 25 students at an adult education class.

Part of Colla's right hand was severed and he suffered severe burns and minor shrapnel wounds to his forearms and torso, fire Capt. Tom Weinell said. No one else was injured. He was reported in stable condition at a hospital.

The teacher slammed the shell down in an attempt to kill something that was buzzing or crawling across the desk, said Fire Marshal Glen Albright.

Colla found the 40 mm round while hunting years ago and "obviously he didn't think the round was live," said Dennis Huston, who teaches computer design alongside Colla.

Good one, or am I sick when I laugh at things like this?

I don't know. I got some wierd looks when I laughed at a story about someone's head getting cut off a while ago. I have a wierd sense of humor. Probably the result of seeing that crap since I was 15 years old.

Does it comes home to roost? Not likely. What I'm talking about is how kids get suspended and even expelled for going against the 'Zero Tolerance' that most schools have in their rules.

Case in point #1: A kid was building birdhouses at a Scouting event the night before he went to school the next day. The teacher heard 'metal sounds' in the kid's pocket. Aluminum nails were found in his pocket......suspended 3 days.

Case #2: A kid went to school, remembered he had a pocket knife in his pocket. The kid immediately went to the principle's office and turned the knife in before going to the classroom. Suspended 10 days and the principle will decide if he will get expelled.

Now let's see if that teacher who mangled his hand with "High Explosives" and "Munitions" is expelled......I doubt it!

The word IDIOT comes to my lips to describe this guy. Maybe too much Cal. sun cooked his brain.

Stuck on stupid......

Thats like lighting a heater with a blasting cap.

Anothing thing that comes to mind - "Hold my beer and watch this...."

Yah but did he get the bug?

I'm guessing this story is wrong on the exact munition. A 40mm shell would have taken his whole desk out and him if he was holding it.

And where in the hell was he hunting that he found a 40mm shell?

Modern day M203 grenade launchers use a 40mm projectile.

Jeez, you learn more by accident than by design sometimes....

http://www.inetres.com/gp/military/infa ... _ammo.html



I'm guessing, based on the web page info above, that it was an M781 practice round.

The M406 HE round has a casualty radius of 427 ft and a kill radius of 16 ft. While the M791 practice round has "only" a danger radius of 66 ft.

It just goes to show you, "You can't fix stupid."

So basically we're saying here that if I ever start my own exterminator company, I shouldn't use this souvenir .50 BMG round I have on my desk as my primary tool?

And if I am not mistaken theya re actually propelled with Black POwder - whick makes them especially twitchy as they get older.

Imagine the full house HE round? Can you say splatter factor?

He better have gotten the bug. That is akin to using a shotgun to kill a sparrow.

Idiot....

Darwin award winner!

Nope - only a runner-up. You have to take yourself out of the gene pool to win a Darwin award.

They let this guy teach?