In a rather unusual turn of events, Chinese authorities have obtained a hand grenade that had been used as a hammer by a 90-year-old villager in Hubei for the past 20 years. The villager, a woman, had discovered the explosive contraption in a field decades ago and, mistaking it for a piece of iron, had been using it for everyday tasks like cracking nuts, hammering nails and grinding pepper.
The grenade was only discovered when an old building belonging to the woman in Huangbao City was being demolished. Upon discovering the explosive, authorities sent professional bomb disposal personnel to his home. A video released by police shows two men in T-shirts, long pants and red helmets placing the grenade in a bubble sleeve, with a uniformed officer assisting them. The ends of the sleeve were secured with tape.
The Baokang County Public Security Bureau, which released the video of the grenade's recovery, said: “Fortunately, this safety hazard has been eliminated and has not caused any damage or injury.” The police announcement quickly went viral on Weibo, China's version of Twitter, racking up 75 million views within 24 hours of the video's release.
The incident has sparked a conversation among Weibo users about the quality of the grenade, which had not exploded after 20 years of use. One leading commenter wrote: “It's so obvious it's a grenade and no one recognized it. Young people didn't recognize it. Old people didn't recognize it. Have they never seen war?”
The incident comes as China has stepped up efforts to encourage its citizens to be vigilant against potential threats, as part of a broader strategy by Chinese leader Xi Jinping to prepare its population, economy and military for the possibility of a war
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