Saxon's Survival Hour #189: Disarming the Letter Bomb

5 months ago

Today's excerpt begins on page 104 of The Survivor Volume 1.

DISARMING THE LETTER BOMB

At various times of the year, probably during full moons, letter bombers go into their act.
Too cowardly to confront their enemy, even through a rifle scope, they send their pitiful attempts at destruction through the mail.

As there is status among criminals, there is also status among political fanatics and others who use violence to register protest.
Among any prison population, the lowest group includes child molesters and all those who use helpless children to work out their pathetic fantasies.

The letter bomber has the same status.
You can't get any lower.
In fact, I see a similarity.
I wouldn't say that all child molesters are letter bombers, but all letter bombers would have the same degree of social inadequacy.
So if the cops ran a complete workup on a captured letter bomber I'll bet they could solve every case of child molestation in his neighborhood.

I have two basic objections to letter bombs.
The first is that there is such a tiny chance that the addressee will actually open it.
This is especially true in the cases of official types, most of whom have secretaries who open the mail and give only the important stuff to the boss.
Often, it doesn't even get to the addressee's office.
More postal workers get their hands blown off than do secretaries.
So the letter bomb is an inefficient way to deliver harm to an enemy.

My second objection is that these bombs usually only maim people.
They blow off fingers and hands.
They blind.
A thus crippled enemy has nothing to do for the rest of his life but work on who sent it.
He has the cooperation of all those around him.
The case is never closed.

The only fatal letter bomb I know of concerned an Israeli official in New York.
His secretary was probably on a coffee break and he opened the mail himself.
He was sitting up close to his desk.
Holding the bomb just over the edge of that wooden desk, he opened it and it went off.

Although a letter bomb has a blast, or shattering, radius of only a couple inches, it blasted off the edge of the desk, sending fragments into his abdomen.

There are two main aspects to any bomb.
The first and most important is the blast radius.
This is the area directly around the explosive itself as it disintegrates.
This shatters flesh, bends metal and pulverizes paper, etc.

Next is the concussion.
This is simply air being pushed out from the blast area.
Concussion is slight in the case of letter bombs but can push out bits of matter from the mechanism and its container, which can be blown into the eyes, but is otherwise usually harmless.

A letter bomb is often heavier than other letters and is usually about a quarter inch thick.
Only the best made letter bombs last long enough to get to the target's office.
If one gets that far it is usually safe to assume that it will not go off unless opened.

A secretary can't afford to get paranoid about this and call the Bomb Squad to open every bulky letter.
Most such bulky mail is usually stuffed with pamphlets of one kind or another.
But my system is so simple that all mail which might be suspect can be handled in relative safely.

The equipment is simple and cheap.
You need a pair of gloves; quilted cloth, leather or canvas.
Clear plastic goggles, completely covering the eyes, will keep any fragments of paper or bits of metal out of your eyes.
Any auto supply store has them.
You'll also want vegetable tongs, with flattened ends, bought at any dime store.
Then you'll need scissors and a heavy book, maybe five or more inches thick.
Ear plugs are optional.

If a letter bomb gets past the Post Office, it's probably safe to handle unopened.
Even so, in any handling of suspect mail you should wear goggles and gloves and carry it with the tongs.

First, copy the return address.
It's usually phony but even a phony address is often relevant to investigators, especially with the postmark and city of origin.
It is best to Xerox it if you have a copying machine.
The address, whether typed or hand written, can provide many clues to experts.

Put the suspect piece of mail at the edge of a heavy table or desk with the end of the envelope protruding slightly over the edge.
Put the book over the letter and stand to the side of the desk at point "X".

Next, you must secure the envelope to the table or desk.
Otherwise, if the contents of the envelope are stuffed in tightly, pulling on the contents would just pull the envelope and the book off the table.

To secure the envelope just put a few drops of Elmer's Glue-All on the table and lay the envelope on the glue.
This glue dries completely in 30 minutes and it sets up and becomes tacky in less than five minutes.
So just wait three or four minutes and the envelope will be secure enough to allow the contents to be pulled out.

You can set up several envelopes in a line this way.
When finished, the envelopes are pulled off and the glue is wiped away with a damp cloth.

The bomb could go off under the book.
The book would absorb the blast and there would be little damage except to it and the desk.

When everything is in place, snip off the end of the envelope.
If nothing happens you can sidle around and peek in the end of the envelope.
If the contents look metallic or are of thick pasteboard you have cause for alarm.
Call the Bomb Squad.

If the contents appear to be only folded paper, they probably are.
Even so, reach in with the vegetable tongs and pull them out.
An explosion then would cause no damage except for coronaries and such.
Since the shattering range is only a couple of inches, the blast would dissipate before it even reached your hand, except for small bits of debris.

Any office subject to crank letters should employ this method.
It should also be publicized that any potential target of such bombs never opens the mail.
Letter bombers are too far gone to feel remorse over an innocent victim.
But as a matter of simple practicality, the bomb would not be sent if it were known that the potential victim never opened his own mail.

I'm not saying my method is perfectly safe.
After all, a bomb is a bomb.
But if you work for someone who is a potential target, it is only sensible to set up such a system.

Chances are, you'll never open a letter bomb.
But if your boss is any kind of prime target and you play your cards right, you might put in for hazard pay and get it.

kurt pic.png

Kurt Saxon thought civilization would have collapsed by now.
He spent the majority of his life collecting knowledge of home based business.
His goal was for all his readers to survive at a more comfortable level than those that were less provident.

He knew the importance of communicating at a level folks could understand.
Most of what he has compiled for our benefit can be easily understood by everybody.

He also includes a subtle sense of humor.

You can find the majority of his life's work here.

Hear him read his stories.