Using hand grenade as hammer, elderly woman in China defies death for 20 years

Due to the shape of the grenade, the elderly villager thought it was a tool, and used it as such. Photo: Baidu

• Unsuspecting elderly woman uses hand grenade as a tool for cracking nuts, hammering nails for 2 decades

An elderly woman in China who thought she was using a simple hammer to crack nuts and embed nails for 20 years was shocked to discover that the tool was actually a hand grenade.

The astonishing story began two decades ago when the woman, surnamed Qin, who is now 90 years old, from Xiangyang, Hubei province in central China, found an unusual "metal lump" while working on her farm in Huangbao county.

Mistaking it for a hammer because of its shape, she took it home and used it for various household tasks.

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"I've been using it at home to pound red pepper, crack nuts, and hammer in nails," Qin explained in a video that has trended online.

The revelation that she was, in fact, dealing with a deadly device came to light on June 23, when workers were demolishing her old home recognised it as a hand grenade.

They immediately alerted the authorities.

The Huangbao police station quickly responded by reporting the incident to the local public security authorities, who sent officers and a bomb disposal unit to the scene.

According to the trending online video, the wooden handle of the grenade had become smooth and glossy from years of use, while the head showed significant pits from repeated hammering.

Notably, a section of the grenade's fuse was exposed.

The police have since confiscated the weapon and said: "After confiscating the grenade, we asked professionals to destroy it."

They also held a safety education session for villagers.

Officers warned them: "If you find any suspicious objects that look like hand grenades, you must report it to the police immediately. Do not touch it or use it as a hammer, or the consequences could be disastrous!"

Dazhong Daily reported that the grenade was a domestic Type 67, identifiable by the protective metal cap on its wooden handle.

Its failure to explode for over two decades sparked online speculation.

Some people suggested it might be a training grenade, identical in shape but not filled with gunpowder.

Others countered by saying that because the police confiscated it, it could not be fake, adding: "Its failure to explode is just an exceptional case."

The incident also caused much amusement on social media.

One online observer said: "It's impressive that Grandma Qin used the hand grenade as a hammer for over 20 years without ever pulling the fuse out of curiosity.

"If it were me, I wouldn't have resisted my desire to pull it and see what happened."

Another person added: "Apparently, even hand grenades have principles and won't explode on kind-hearted elderly people."

While a third quipped: "The handle has even become smooth and shiny. The grenade might be thinking, 'Please, Officer, take me away quickly. I've been given too many tasks during my time here.'"

"Watching the video, even the police looked stunned! This old lady is truly lucky and blessed," said another person.

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This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (www.scmp.com), the leading news media reporting on China and Asia.

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