History forgot these old fireworks. We recreated them.

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  • čas přidán 20. 06. 2021
  • Around the old mining areas of North Wales, you can find rock cannon: old Welsh firework sites. Most of the world has never heard of them: so we recreated them on a test range. • Thanks to Steve from Live Action FX and to Owain for the idea!
    Edited by Michelle Martin: / mrsmmartin
    Filmed safely: www.tomscott.com/safe/
    🟥 MORE FROM TOM: www.tomscott.com/
    (you can find contact details and social links there too)
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Komentáře • 2,9K

  • @TomScottGo
    @TomScottGo  Před 2 lety +14559

    This was a difficult video to sum up in a title: hopefully it's just on the right side of clickbait. Steve's now writing an academic paper on rock cannon; if any Welsh people have a historic cannon on their land and want him to fire it, do get in touch...

  • @Krunschy
    @Krunschy Před 2 lety +4468

    Considering the amount of effort that went into this, you really gotta give Tom credit for how the video isn't stretched out at all. I could easily see this being a 20 minute video on other channels.

    • @zeebeezoey
      @zeebeezoey Před 2 lety +429

      i could see this being a full 45 minutes hosted by richard hammond on bbc 2

    • @danieljensen2626
      @danieljensen2626 Před 2 lety +113

      Or a 3 part series featuring all the work that went in to set it up.

    • @AlphaCarinae
      @AlphaCarinae Před 2 lety +36

      I like 20 minute videos, though.

    • @JDeWittDIY
      @JDeWittDIY Před 2 lety +18

      @@danieljensen2626 Or on some channels, a 15 part series...

    • @simulacrae
      @simulacrae Před 2 lety +78

      ”Haaay guys! It’s ya boy Tommie S here, before you watch the video smash that like button and kill that bell to not miss any of my videos, also consider subscribe to my Patreon!!1”

  • @izzieb
    @izzieb Před 2 lety +3804

    In the mid-20th century, the Welsh finally came to terms with their homeland and decided to stop trying to blowing up small parts of it.

    • @f-ckmyr0fil788
      @f-ckmyr0fil788 Před 2 lety +5

      how did

    • @NetheriteMiner
      @NetheriteMiner Před 2 lety +31

      Sounds more like a line from "history of the entire world, i guess"

    • @ianhill20101
      @ianhill20101 Před 2 lety +7

      English men crossing the seven, rock cannon

    • @ZetaPyro
      @ZetaPyro Před 2 lety +41

      "Celebrate the independence of your nation by blowing up a small part of it." - The Simpsons

    • @cogspace
      @cogspace Před 2 lety +15

      America might need another minute to think about it.

  • @olegallito5742
    @olegallito5742 Před 2 lety +1693

    The fact that they filmed it all midday is just killing me. Just imagine how much better it would look in the dusk.

    • @aatsiii
      @aatsiii Před rokem +113

      Moisture could have been the reason. You wait for dusk, temperature drops and everything gets wet as if it rained.

    • @TheRussell747
      @TheRussell747 Před rokem +81

      @@aatsiii dew doesn't form until the middle of the night or the next morning. You could've done this just after sunset, like almost every fireworks display anywhere is done, and it wouldve worked fine.

    • @hypnotunez
      @hypnotunez Před rokem +73

      @@TheRussell747 dew can form whenever the dew point is reached which means it just depends on temperature. It’s wales literally anything could happen.

    • @TheRussell747
      @TheRussell747 Před rokem +16

      @@hypnotunez it's not just temperature. There are numerous factors like humidity, wind, clouds, etc.
      There are still ways to extremely easily and cheaply prevent dew from forming on a slab.

    • @aatsiii
      @aatsiii Před rokem +21

      I live in dryer climate than Wales and I get dew before sunset. And I guess you can warm up the surface but that makes absolutely no sense for historical fireworks.

  • @samlee5549
    @samlee5549 Před 2 lety +674

    “So I asked the explosives engineer I know” is such a powerful statement to have in your introduction.

  • @YetAnotherGeorgeth
    @YetAnotherGeorgeth Před 2 lety +15387

    Next week: “the Soviets came up with the most destructive nuclear bomb in the world, but can we recreate the tsar bomb? I’ve asked Steve to demonstrate on the West Midlands…”

  • @computer_dude
    @computer_dude Před 2 lety +1978

    "We didn't realize how much work it would be... for him."
    Cruel, Tom.

  • @Theeny
    @Theeny Před 2 lety +350

    Thank-you so much from a Welsh person who had never heard of rock cannon. And another thank-you for respecting our language, we really appreciate it!

  • @mattloomis1685
    @mattloomis1685 Před 2 lety +136

    *me, an American about to go out back and try this*
    “you know I’m somewhat of a pyrotechnics expert myself”

    • @Nabend1402
      @Nabend1402 Před 2 lety +2

      RIP

    • @jed-henrywitkowski6470
      @jed-henrywitkowski6470 Před 2 lety +4

      @@Nabend1402 To US, RIP stands for, Rest In Peices.

    • @jed-henrywitkowski6470
      @jed-henrywitkowski6470 Před 2 lety +1

      Oh, you too?! I think it comes from being born here.

    • @Goblinoiddoof
      @Goblinoiddoof Před 2 lety +12

      As a Welshman, I give you luck. Less luck for succeeding. More luck to not kill yerself. Cus lets be honest, it's easier to do the latter than the former. If it DOES work, mark it with the Welsh flag or something IDK XD

  • @michalswag
    @michalswag Před 2 lety +10671

    glad mr pyrotechnician is now a staple in the tomscottverse

  • @alexthunderbrand
    @alexthunderbrand Před 2 lety +3287

    As a Welsh person, hearing my grandpa's stories of these things as a kid, this was delightful to see! Also, I guess I shouldn't be surprised, you having studies linguistics and all, but your pronunciation of Betws y Coed was among the best I've seen by English.

    • @MatthewsStopMotions
      @MatthewsStopMotions Před 2 lety +45

      noswaith dda! mae hynny'n dda clywed.

    • @memanwho
      @memanwho Před 2 lety +50

      Actually hearing coed pronounced properly was lovely.

    • @joesheepy
      @joesheepy Před 2 lety +23

      cymru am byth 🐑

    • @thepurpleapple
      @thepurpleapple Před 2 lety +48

      Tom is always respectful of Welsh stuff and I really appreciate that!

    • @selsig_dwp
      @selsig_dwp Před 2 lety +13

      From South Wales, I pronounce 'coed' as 'côd'

  • @ComeRee
    @ComeRee Před rokem +87

    Tom, the amount of sheer respect and empathy you show for our country, language and culture... you are more than welcome my friend!
    Cariad fawr o Gymru a ddiolch am rannu! Much love from Wales and thank you for sharing!

  • @TooMuchThought
    @TooMuchThought Před rokem +74

    The more I learn about Wales, the more I fall in love with their unique culture, history, and language.
    Wales is cool.

  • @S_Roach
    @S_Roach Před 2 lety +1640

    As an aside. Think how much better this would have sounded in a valley rather than a plain bordered by trees.

    • @uzbekistanplaystaion4BIOScrek
      @uzbekistanplaystaion4BIOScrek Před 2 lety +169

      I feel the report of the rock cannon would have also been significantly improved with more wadding. Some of the shots were great, but with others you could hear that the newspaper didn't provide enough resistance, so the shot went woosh instead of pop/bang. Maybe felt disks in addition to or instead of paper wads?

    • @ch4.hayabusa
      @ch4.hayabusa Před 2 lety +3

      Drop the bass.

    • @evilbarrels2506
      @evilbarrels2506 Před 2 lety +57

      @@uzbekistanplaystaion4BIOScrek My guess is if the originals used newspaper, it was rolled up in a similar style to the wadding used in rifles at the time; not just bunched up and put over the powder.

    • @charlesharper2357
      @charlesharper2357 Před 2 lety +8

      And in the dark...

    • @Mike-oz4cv
      @Mike-oz4cv Před 2 lety +10

      And close to a river. And in the dark or at least shade.

  • @delunagaming9966
    @delunagaming9966 Před 2 lety +5218

    Tom just likes saying rock cannon

  • @hornetscales8274
    @hornetscales8274 Před rokem +75

    There was a mining town in Missouri that would do a similar celebration. One thing they did was place some gunpowder on an anvil and set another anvil on top, light the fuse and launch it into the air. Probably not that high but apparently "hold my beer, watch this" has been around for ages.

    • @jasonsummit1885
      @jasonsummit1885 Před rokem +4

      They mill a wide slot in the bottom anvil for the powder and drill a hole in the top one for the fuse. It is sealed with peanut butter of all things.

    • @AssassinNaivara
      @AssassinNaivara Před rokem +1

      Where was this in Missouri? I live in St Louis and I have never heard of this

    • @hornetscales8274
      @hornetscales8274 Před rokem +4

      @@AssassinNaivara South of St. James is Meremec Springs. They have the remains of an old steel works that operated by water power from the springs. Got a museum that has several displays of what the operation looked like. Definitely worth the run down the highway for it. Great place to take the kids to see.

  • @Xenerith
    @Xenerith Před 2 lety +28

    Tom, I am from North wales, around 10 miles outside of Betws-y-Coed. I genuinely appreciate you pronouncing the name correctly, and not butchering it.

    • @nmatavka
      @nmatavka Před 8 měsíci

      We'd pronounce it properly if you'd spell it Bettus-y-Coid or something that actually made sense!

    • @myname8035
      @myname8035 Před 3 měsíci +2

      ​@@nmatavkahave you considered how weird English pronunciation looks to a Welsh speaker? Saying "w" is pronounced "uh" in Welsh is no weirder than saying (to a welsh person) that "u" is pronounced "w" in English. Also, your comment is the same as Welsh people telling all English speakers to use "w" in spelling so it makes sense

  • @Viktor16161616
    @Viktor16161616 Před 2 lety +634

    The "English" version had more flair to it visually, but I'd go ahead and say the original version had a better sound to it with decisive pops and no whistling.

    • @233Deadman
      @233Deadman Před 2 lety +56

      hides the sound of the Welsh taking a couple of shots at the English while it's going off as well.

    • @RainaRamsay
      @RainaRamsay Před 2 lety +1

      @@233Deadman XD

    • @piers389
      @piers389 Před 2 lety

      Why the use of " ?

    • @BertGrink
      @BertGrink Před 2 lety +8

      I agree, and i will add that the original version pleased me more than the new one did.

    • @jimmymcgill2961
      @jimmymcgill2961 Před 2 lety

      They’re both English versions.

  • @RenneVangr
    @RenneVangr Před 2 lety +4953

    "It rained all of May"
    Ah, one of the most English sentences ever spoken.

    • @dodgeman777
      @dodgeman777 Před 2 lety +45

      It really did though! Even I, who should be used to it by now, got a bit sick of it

    • @PianoKwanMan
      @PianoKwanMan Před 2 lety +59

      @@dodgeman777 The old English saying "April Falls bring May flowers" has been falling apart lately

    • @boiledelephant
      @boiledelephant Před 2 lety +21

      The Welsh can probably sympathize too.

    • @R.M.MacFru
      @R.M.MacFru Před 2 lety +9

      When I was growing up, I never understood that saying since we still had snow in April. It was always more of May showers brought June flowers.

    • @PianoKwanMan
      @PianoKwanMan Před 2 lety +7

      @@R.M.MacFru I always thought it was a play on words: "April fools bring Mayflower(s)" Mayflower relating to Henry VIII

  • @IanSlothieRolfe
    @IanSlothieRolfe Před 2 lety +66

    Well thats solved one thing. Many years ago I visited Wales and saw one of these, I was told it was referred to as a Rock Cannon. I wasn't sure what that was, and in fact I assumed it was something religious (as in Canon) but never thought about it more. Now I know!

  • @oldsnappysportsmen
    @oldsnappysportsmen Před 2 lety +48

    Props to the guy making the model. I can't imagine the time spent perfecting and researching the proper design.

  • @Tantusar
    @Tantusar Před 2 lety +3037

    Ah, another episode of “An Englishman Chooses To Avoid An International Incident”.

    • @QemeH
      @QemeH Před 2 lety +127

      Those are rare.

    • @eldrago19
      @eldrago19 Před 2 lety +298

      Well it's better than "An Englishman Choose To Provoke An International Incident" or as it is also known "Whatever Boris's Doing".

    • @rogerszmodis6913
      @rogerszmodis6913 Před 2 lety +36

      But, the UK is just one country which Wales is a region of.

    • @SofosProject
      @SofosProject Před 2 lety +109

      @@rogerszmodis6913 Don't say that to any Welsh patriots.

    • @LeRoiJojo
      @LeRoiJojo Před 2 lety +101

      @@rogerszmodis6913 I'm not sure you should open this can of worms.

  • @samsontag
    @samsontag Před 2 lety +1089

    Honestly i kinda preferred the unimproved version, i enjoyed the simplicity of the flames rolling over the rock face and the bursts of energy following.

    • @oscarbarton4125
      @oscarbarton4125 Před 2 lety +112

      Same, think the fireworks make it look to fancy, the Pure gunpowder one feels raw and powerful.

    • @officialEricBG
      @officialEricBG Před 2 lety +144

      The sound was so much more satisfying too

    • @creepingjesus5106
      @creepingjesus5106 Před 2 lety +18

      @@officialEricBG Definitely. I'm gonna have to listen to that a couple more times.

    • @bow-tiedengineer4453
      @bow-tiedengineer4453 Před 2 lety +56

      @@officialEricBG My thoughts exactly. The color was nice, but the crackle spoilt the effect. From what they were describing, it was less of a visual show anyways, meant more like an automatic version of a gun salute or similar. Something that would echo around the valley, and say "hey everyone, today is special, there's something important going on, why don't you come into town and gossip about it?" It would be cool if they started using some of the rock cannons again, though, show people what it would have been like when they were popularly used.

    • @thephoenix6651
      @thephoenix6651 Před 2 lety +3

      The sound made it for me

  • @raygale4198
    @raygale4198 Před 2 lety +137

    I'm convinced we have passed peak intelligence in mankind, the rock cannon is a brilliant way of controlling what could have been some fairly dodgy old explosives of the era and give a relatively safe and fun show for the locals.

    • @gunnarpatrick9645
      @gunnarpatrick9645 Před rokem +2

      What do you think modern fireworks can do? Still a relatively aintellectual affair in today's information/digital era.

    • @raygale4198
      @raygale4198 Před rokem +12

      @Willow Tree It's the depth of knowledge that has changed. In general we know about more stuff these days simply because it's there and we are exposed to it daily. The oldies understood how and why stuff worked. Almost every farmer could fix any machine or car of the day because they understood what it was trying to do. How many people these days can even change a tyre or understand how a water tap works?

    • @katiegrayx3637
      @katiegrayx3637 Před rokem +9

      ​@@raygale4198 I don't think we've passed the peak. I think that back then there were a lot less total 'things' about, so it was easier for someone to have significant depth of knowledge in nearly everything around them. Nowadays there's significantly more things around, so the same quantity of knowledge is stretched out thinner and thinner. Instead of knowing 10s of things like the back of your hand, you know the bare basics of 100s of them, because that's what is now required to get by in the world. Not to mention there weren't mega corporations manufacturing every bit and piece of every little thing everywhere taking even that away from the average person.
      The human brain can only hold so much information, and we've increased the number of things you need to know about faster than evolution can keep up our mental storage, so depth has been sacrificed, but I do think that it will loop back around in the future. Evolution will eventually catch back up, and we will once again have the mental capacity to store the same amount of depth as our ancestors, but for 100s of times more things than they ever could. That's just not right now, and obviously not in our lifetimes since it's evolutionarily based (unless technology can bridge that gap with microchips in our brains or some crazy sci-fi crap like that)

    • @ciclon5682
      @ciclon5682 Před rokem

      ​@@gunnarpatrick9645 i mean. I think *haha funny thing go loud boom and bright color* its a thing that humans liked in every time period

  • @combination4420
    @combination4420 Před 2 lety +40

    The rock cannon replica surely must've took a lot of effort. Cheers to the explosive engineer for taking on such a great feat! The one with the modern firework effect was especially interrsting.

  • @vigilantcosmicpenguin8721
    @vigilantcosmicpenguin8721 Před 2 lety +4389

    I love that Steve is a recurring character now. He's adding some real charm to the Tom Scott universe.

  • @irvalfirestar6265
    @irvalfirestar6265 Před 2 lety +27

    that's really nice, i reckon the holes' shapes or gunpowder loading could be adjusted in another way to control how quickly the gunpowder would burn instead of the current setup, as i noticed that the original Welsh cannon holes are narrower in comparison
    for instance, the holes could be shaped like a teardrop at the bottom to create a bottleneck at the top, or instead of old newspaper the plugs could be made of corks with a hole in the middle for the fuse and hammered in to contain the gases better, and thus could result in a better bang

  • @_Mr.Tuvok_
    @_Mr.Tuvok_ Před 2 lety +5

    5:10
    As an American, After that little apology, I can’t help but think how intense our version of that would be.

  • @Nighthawkinlight
    @Nighthawkinlight Před 2 lety +5007

    Wow, I've been a fireworks nerd my whole life and I've not heard of rock cannons. I suppose they never did go global.

    • @humanhuman5024
      @humanhuman5024 Před 2 lety +54

      @Jack BURDETT wow so special not like anyone has done that before

    • @daveh7720
      @daveh7720 Před 2 lety +74

      They're kind of hard to pack in sawdust and load into a shipping container.

    • @TheWizardOfJim
      @TheWizardOfJim Před 2 lety +100

      It's probably a good thing that they didn't make it to the US - we'd have taken Tom's "let's see if we can improve on it" and raised it by a "hold my beer"

    • @user-hd5rd5xk2v
      @user-hd5rd5xk2v Před 2 lety +3

      ؜‎‏

    • @pielord33321
      @pielord33321 Před 2 lety +30

      I've seen holes similar to these drilled into the boulders they use for jetties in southern California along the beaches. I always assumed they were for quarry explosives. But maybe they were for fireworks after all.

  • @ules5799
    @ules5799 Před 2 lety +2005

    Tom Scott once again satisfying his primal urge to blow everything up

  • @memoryfoam2285
    @memoryfoam2285 Před rokem +7

    My mum grew up in Gwynedd and whenever we went up to visit I always saw pieces of stone with cylindrical holes in them, always wondered what they were from

  • @the27thsheeti24
    @the27thsheeti24 Před rokem +1

    The fact these were used a fair bit, less than 100 years ago yet slim to none remember them is really interesting

  • @ShadowDragon8685
    @ShadowDragon8685 Před 2 lety +984

    To be fair, I'm reasonably confident that old-timey Welsh miners would've happily doped their gunpowder with stuff to give it some extra whizz-bang oooh-wow effects when and if they had access to the wizz-bang.

    • @jimmyzhao2673
      @jimmyzhao2673 Před 2 lety +144

      old-timey Welsh miners would have doped *themselves* with whiskey to experience some extra whizz-bang oooh-wow effects

    • @erincondron8105
      @erincondron8105 Před 2 lety +22

      Is wizz-bang cocaine

    • @Kae-Lexi
      @Kae-Lexi Před rokem +10

      @@jimmyzhao2673 *whisky

    • @FoxDog1080
      @FoxDog1080 Před rokem

      Them welshes did their stuffs like how the chickens did their gobbly-doos

    • @shogun2215
      @shogun2215 Před rokem +13

      They absolutely did
      My father was a miner here in Wales and apparently they would do it, and sometimes use far more gunpowder than usual

  • @AceTrainerLiam
    @AceTrainerLiam Před 2 lety +4185

    Bravest Go-Pro in history.

    • @shedinjasonix5040
      @shedinjasonix5040 Před 2 lety +9

      omg Liam watches Tom Scott ahh so British I love it

    • @holdmybeer
      @holdmybeer Před 2 lety +1

      F

    • @Palmtop_User
      @Palmtop_User Před 2 lety +12

      Iirc there was actually one that went into a volcano and was able to recover the video

    • @Ardjano234
      @Ardjano234 Před 2 lety +1

      Give him a medal of honour

    • @kushalraj
      @kushalraj Před 2 lety +1

      I wonder if it survived

  • @justarandomsquid3568
    @justarandomsquid3568 Před 2 lety +9

    And now I want to hear a big round of applause for the guy who pronounced Betws-y-coed without batting an eye.

  • @JockMcBile
    @JockMcBile Před 2 lety

    That was awesome. Good on everyone who helped to make this happen.

  • @BlackMesaEmployee
    @BlackMesaEmployee Před 2 lety +1200

    Tom Scott erases the entirety of Europe via rock cannon

    • @checcmac8693
      @checcmac8693 Před 2 lety +21

      That’s how UK is out of EU

    • @Tomahawkist_
      @Tomahawkist_ Před 2 lety +27

      i am standing next to a rock cannon containing multiple replicas of the tsar bomb. and the next thing we‘ll do is start the timer.

    • @wilyriley_
      @wilyriley_ Před 2 lety +7

      *rule britannia fades in from the background*

    • @f-ckmyr0fil788
      @f-ckmyr0fil788 Před 2 lety

      f for the

    • @themspspotter593
      @themspspotter593 Před 2 lety

      Spilt the earth via rock cannon. Layers after all

  • @jordyb4862
    @jordyb4862 Před 2 lety +345

    Tom: That was lovely
    Steve: ... yep .. **contemplates life choices**

    • @Tustin2121
      @Tustin2121 Před 2 lety +1

      At least Steve is getting an academic paper out of this whole thing. That’s gotta be worth something.

    • @LiveActionFX
      @LiveActionFX Před 2 lety +8

      @@Tustin2121 Haven't written it yet, currently concentrating on my masters thesis.

  • @tantamounted
    @tantamounted Před 2 lety

    Bravo! Thank you for this. I willingly missed several local fireworks shows this year, and this was satisfying to watch.

  • @01eocoe10
    @01eocoe10 Před 2 lety

    This was glorious! Thanks for sharing all your (and Steve's) hard work!

  • @abarratt8869
    @abarratt8869 Před 2 lety +871

    There's a rock mortar in Gibraltar, dating to Napoleonic war times. Literally a large diameter hole drilled into the rock, with the idea of firing large shells at Spanish ships in the bay. It wasn't successful, but the bang was probably quite exciting!

    • @yoymate6316
      @yoymate6316 Před 2 lety +54

      This is a tip-top video idea; I wonder if Tom can travel to Gibraltar since it’s technically the UK

    • @rin_etoware_2989
      @rin_etoware_2989 Před 2 lety +25

      1771, actually, but still

    • @abarratt8869
      @abarratt8869 Před 2 lety +11

      @@rin_etoware_2989 Aha, earlier than I thought! Thank you :)

    • @jed-henrywitkowski6470
      @jed-henrywitkowski6470 Před 2 lety +3

      I thought it was because the Frenchies came for a friken war, and got tired of waiting for the Spainards to wake from their siesta.

    • @martkbanjoboy8853
      @martkbanjoboy8853 Před 2 lety +11

      I read there are hundreds and fired good sized stones piled atop the lifting charge &would have rained focks (rocks, not focks :D) coming down with the acceleration due to gravity onto and through the decks of invasion fleets dumb enough to get within range. A test was arranged during WWII attended by UK military officers. A curiousity at that point in history although fougasse is still in the Combat Engineering lexicon.

  • @drumkommandr9779
    @drumkommandr9779 Před 2 lety +365

    The question every engineer asks when stuck on a problem: well, how did they do it before this was available?

    • @hamstirrer6882
      @hamstirrer6882 Před 2 lety

      Also: things did NOT come out easily, but its ok because after this I never have to look at this horrible contraption ever again!

  • @shannonpincombe8485
    @shannonpincombe8485 Před 2 lety +2

    That was so much fun to watch. I reckon, if the Welsh want a special event for the locals(especially the kids) they should have an annual semi-educational weekend celebrating this old timey practice.
    The fella who set everything up for you is a legend and a true friend.

  • @thatmadengineer_5552
    @thatmadengineer_5552 Před 2 lety +3

    This is why I love being Welsh

  • @robertwilliams-day320
    @robertwilliams-day320 Před 2 lety +547

    I live in North Wales, have a degree in Archaeology and spend as much time outside as I can. I never knew what these where, I know where a few are locally but until today not what they where. Thank you Tom.

  • @spencercool100
    @spencercool100 Před 2 lety +136

    "I don't think either of us realized how much work this was going to be... for him"

    • @pengy897
      @pengy897 Před 2 lety +17

      Yes we watched the video thank you.

  • @chasehicks7465
    @chasehicks7465 Před rokem +1

    Well done lads, we appreciate your hard work 👍👍👍

  • @dark_neverland
    @dark_neverland Před 2 lety

    The sheer variety of people you know never ceases to amaze me. And this made my inner-pyro very happy

  • @saberg1082
    @saberg1082 Před 2 lety +462

    I love how they don't use the standard "Do not attempt this at home", but just "Do not attempt this". At all. Under no circumstances. Whatsoever. 😂

    • @matejlieskovsky9625
      @matejlieskovsky9625 Před 2 lety +40

      In an alternate universe:
      "This rock is not my home so I tried it here and got hurt. I will sue!"

    • @fisch37
      @fisch37 Před 2 lety +41

      @@matejlieskovsky9625 That's not an alternate universe, that's the US

    • @LeafHuntress
      @LeafHuntress Před 2 lety +19

      @@fisch37 Don't forget, they used either blue or pink colours to show the state of genitalia of their foetus & started a forestfire in a national park that grew to threaten five major cities in two different states...
      Because the USA.

    • @noesunyoutuber7680
      @noesunyoutuber7680 Před 2 lety +6

      @@LeafHuntress I hate that there's nothing I can say to refute that. /jk

    • @ajfurnari2448
      @ajfurnari2448 Před 2 lety

      I'm sure somewhere in Texas....

  • @NiranjanBharadwaj
    @NiranjanBharadwaj Před 2 lety +2015

    Tom makes everyone speak like him.

    • @StoneWeevil
      @StoneWeevil Před 2 lety +83

      No lie, I've actually caught myself speaking like him a few times

    • @Nugcon
      @Nugcon Před 2 lety +271

      He's so British he's colonizing our voices!

    • @ourtalechara9341
      @ourtalechara9341 Před 2 lety +54

      Sometimes I think in his voice.

    • @dan-ks1yd
      @dan-ks1yd Před 2 lety +3

      I always do it, when explaining a technical process.

    • @jacobosborne6751
      @jacobosborne6751 Před 2 lety +8

      I'm come from the same town Tom grew up in so I have no choice as to whether or not I want to speak like him!!

  • @talkingdot
    @talkingdot Před 2 lety

    that is actually really neat! props to Steve for making that

  • @BazilRat
    @BazilRat Před 2 lety +3

    I would personally have fewer noisy effects. I like the canon-like pops of the original Welsh version. But some colour would be a welcome addition to something like this if you ask me.

  • @henningerhenningstone691
    @henningerhenningstone691 Před 2 lety +277

    So nobody's gonna talk about how much effort the (dare I say 'his') pyrotechnician put into this? He's the real MVP of this one!

    • @crazzy88ss
      @crazzy88ss Před 2 lety +4

      Tom specifically mentioned it at the start.

  • @thatspiderbyte
    @thatspiderbyte Před 2 lety +619

    "I asked the explosives engineer I know if he could build one" I'm loving this new trend of blowing things up on your channel

    • @daveh7720
      @daveh7720 Před 2 lety +37

      Tom has also just demonstrated how to get the best effort out of an expert. Don't present it as just a job ("would you build...") but as a challenge ("could you build...").

    • @retroforager
      @retroforager Před 2 lety +14

      Tom Scott - The Michael Bay Era

    • @vigilantcosmicpenguin8721
      @vigilantcosmicpenguin8721 Před 2 lety +5

      Tom "Cool Guys Don't Look At Explosions" Scott

  • @ICe-ph5mr
    @ICe-ph5mr Před rokem

    The amount of work and time spent for such a short but good video amazes me

  • @ParadigmUnkn0wn
    @ParadigmUnkn0wn Před 2 lety +4

    I can't help but think that with such an intricate pattern of oddly spaced holes that they were chained together in a way to create some kind of rhythm. I'm really interested to read any papers published on this.

  • @ValleysOfRain
    @ValleysOfRain Před 2 lety +286

    To be fair, if there ever was an Englishman who I wouldn't mind copying historical Welsh artefacts, it would be Tom.

  • @lefettsack
    @lefettsack Před 2 lety +532

    Why did no one yell "fire in the hole"? It would have been such an easy joke.

    • @vigilantcosmicpenguin8721
      @vigilantcosmicpenguin8721 Před 2 lety +29

      Now I'm disappointed at that missed shot.

    • @coloradostrong
      @coloradostrong Před 2 lety +2

      Who is "noone"? Do you mean _no one_ by chance? 🙄

    • @lefettsack
      @lefettsack Před 2 lety +3

      @@coloradostrong whoopsie

    • @connermckay4012
      @connermckay4012 Před 2 lety +36

      @@coloradostrong if you really want to be prescriptivist, then many dictionaries list “noone” as a common alternate. You technically missed a comma in your sentence (Do you mean “no one”*,* by chance?), but nobody misunderstood you.

    • @Goady1000
      @Goady1000 Před 2 lety +2

      That's an American saying 🤔

  • @LectronCircuits
    @LectronCircuits Před 2 lety

    What a blast. Brilliant. Cheers!

  • @ThePsihopatul
    @ThePsihopatul Před rokem

    Respect to both of you.

  • @Natalie-101
    @Natalie-101 Před 2 lety +397

    With a disclaimer like that, you know it's going to be good

  • @timothymclean
    @timothymclean Před 2 lety +246

    These is some really cool and really simple fireworks infrastructure. I wish it was more common!
    But I can see why it isn't-it's only handy if you have lots of explosives available, only practical if you've got exposed rock somewhere fireworks-y, and pretty inflexible. Hard to convince a town to set aside a spot as their Fireworks Rock instead of just wheeling in a fancy computerized fireworks thingy whenever they have a specific need fr fireworks.

    • @WilliamWallace14051
      @WilliamWallace14051 Před 2 lety +8

      The fancy computerized fireworks thingy is much more standardized and modular than you might expect.

    • @timothymclean
      @timothymclean Před 2 lety +22

      @@WilliamWallace14051 That is, in fact, a big part of why it would be hard to convince a town to set aside a spot as their Fireworks Rock instead of just wheeling one in.

    • @joedellinger9437
      @joedellinger9437 Před 2 lety +5

      Colorado School of Mines needs to make this a tradition.

    • @vigilantcosmicpenguin8721
      @vigilantcosmicpenguin8721 Před 2 lety +1

      Rock cannons were an amazing use of mines, but now that we don't have a whole lot of mines lying around it seems less viable.

    • @Septimus_ii
      @Septimus_ii Před 2 lety +3

      It's also easier when the town is full of people experienced in putting explosives in rocks. Sadly that's a less common skill these days :D

  • @josefgordon7712
    @josefgordon7712 Před 2 lety

    This may be your most explosive video yet. I hope this video really blows up. This content is highly combustible. This story has really got some bang to it. Talk about a lot of time and money going up in flame.

  • @Xenerith
    @Xenerith Před 2 lety +2

    "We hope you'll forgive us. And if not, we at least hope you enjoy the show" Tom, as it's you, and you're one of the people who keep a smile on my face. I hereby accept your apology, for all of Wales.

  • @ZearthGJL
    @ZearthGJL Před 2 lety +778

    "This enraged the neighbors, who punished him severely."

  • @Opus313
    @Opus313 Před 2 lety +378

    Blowing up explosives in a historical monument may not be a good look, but the red shirt is always a good look for you Tom!

    • @physicslover4951
      @physicslover4951 Před 2 lety +4

      Wth, I just clicked on the reply and likes changed from 100 to 153!
      Still underrated, btw.

    • @vigilantcosmicpenguin8721
      @vigilantcosmicpenguin8721 Před 2 lety +5

      I think the locals would get really concerned about what's going on until they see the trustworthy red shirt.

    • @physicslover4951
      @physicslover4951 Před 2 lety +1

      @@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721 You mean Tea-shirt? ☕ 👕

  • @1996Pinocchio
    @1996Pinocchio Před 2 lety

    Absolutely stunning.

  • @redfailhawk
    @redfailhawk Před rokem +1

    This is so cool! My family is from Wales and I love to learn more about it.

  • @ragingmaia3919
    @ragingmaia3919 Před 2 lety +81

    Have to love how much content Tom really covers. Language, History, Culture, Computers, and now Explosives. Please keep up the good work, Tom

  • @enigmatruecrime
    @enigmatruecrime Před 2 lety +774

    As a Qualified Welshman, I and the rest of the people of Wales forgive you.

    • @Dragiux
      @Dragiux Před 2 lety +8

      Why are you falling for this appropriation nonsense?

    • @cfor8129
      @cfor8129 Před 2 lety +73

      @@Dragiux appropriation can be a genuine issue but in this case it was a joke and you've made yourself look like a right tit

    • @sofftskies3769
      @sofftskies3769 Před 2 lety +150

      @@Dragiux purpose of the video is to teach and educate and has also given visibility to a n old Welsh tradition that may otherwise be left behind in history isn't a bad thing. This is cultural APPRECIATION.

    • @Goblinoiddoof
      @Goblinoiddoof Před 2 lety +39

      Ydw. This is correct. I, a westeen welshmen forgives the lad

    • @cristobalgarces1675
      @cristobalgarces1675 Před 2 lety +33

      @@Dragiux Every culture appropriates something from others. It's only when a culture that's not considered "oppressed" appropriates something is when there's outrage. Hypocrites everywhere.

  • @ceurwyn
    @ceurwyn Před 2 lety +2

    I was brought up not far from Betws y Coed (Blaenau Ffestiniog) and I'd never heard of rock cannons! Thank you for teaching me something about my own heritage and history! Keep up the great work. Diolch!

  • @jeffrichards9329
    @jeffrichards9329 Před 2 lety

    Wish I could give this more than one like, on the basis of how much effort went into it and how cool the result was.

  • @jamesCondon6
    @jamesCondon6 Před 2 lety +309

    As a welshman, I had no idea that the cannon existed - you’re certainly forgiven for the recreating of the cannon for educationing me B)

  • @joebleasdale5557
    @joebleasdale5557 Před 2 lety +159

    “So instead...”
    *Smash cut to 2 months later*
    “...I asked the explosives engineer I know...”
    Even Tom Scott would admit that moment was a bit too Tom Scott 😂😂😂

  • @matthewjackson4958
    @matthewjackson4958 Před rokem +2

    As Welshmen, my family and friends had never heard of this, I guess you could call it, art. I've always loved this historical and cultural videos and we thank you for showing us some of our own!

  • @mccallan2798
    @mccallan2798 Před 2 lety

    Absolutely my type of video. Top marks, well done.

  • @Lukemccarthy2011
    @Lukemccarthy2011 Před 2 lety +867

    2020 Tom: "Here's an old forgotten footpath"
    2021 Tom: **Loud Explosion**

    • @unlink1649
      @unlink1649 Před 2 lety +16

      Everybody has their own way of coping with 2021

    • @ShadowDragon8685
      @ShadowDragon8685 Před 2 lety +5

      @@unlink1649 Unleashing the inner Hyneman is always an option. I mean, if you have the means, anyway.
      "Tom want big boom!"

    • @bastienfelix4605
      @bastienfelix4605 Před rokem

      2009 Tom: “alright I’m just going to throw these drums down that cliff”

  • @alysoffoxdale
    @alysoffoxdale Před 2 lety +70

    I wonder if this may inspire any Welsh communities to have another go at their rock cannons?

  • @darreno9874
    @darreno9874 Před 2 lety +1

    I've wanted to know what these sounded like for 40 years, nice work. God bless

  • @Sir_Uncle_Ned
    @Sir_Uncle_Ned Před 2 lety

    Back in the day this would have been quite the sight. Thanks for recreating it!

  • @laurendoe168
    @laurendoe168 Před 2 lety +223

    the second version was "prettier" - but I have a feeling that very few people actually saw the rock cannons as they were firing. I suspect the intent was only to create a bang since no one would see it happening.

    • @keithklassen5320
      @keithklassen5320 Před 2 lety +10

      If nobody saw it, they would have no need of the quills. The quills were meant to be seen, so the whole thing was meant to be seen.

    • @laurendoe168
      @laurendoe168 Před 2 lety +7

      @@keithklassen5320 Yes, the second version -with the quills - was meant to be seen. But the second version was not true to the tradition of the rock cannons.

    • @imogenann1
      @imogenann1 Před 2 lety +5

      @@laurendoe168 you’re not getting it

    • @CoffeeSnep
      @CoffeeSnep Před 2 lety +16

      @@keithklassen5320 the quills were there to assist with the fuse.

  • @GabrielSykes
    @GabrielSykes Před 2 lety +34

    "We hope you'll forgive us, and if not, we hope you'll at least enjoy the show." is my new favourite Tom Scott quote.

  • @JUST_WATCH_THE_VIDEO
    @JUST_WATCH_THE_VIDEO Před 2 lety +8

    “Guys, hear me out,
    What if we shoot rocks into everywhere?”
    - Rock cannon inventor

  • @NoizeIndexMusic
    @NoizeIndexMusic Před 2 lety

    I love how wholesome this show is

  • @jackstonehouse7305
    @jackstonehouse7305 Před 2 lety +349

    As a Welshman, it's always satisfying when the English pronounce Betws-y-Coed correctly

    • @Goblinoiddoof
      @Goblinoiddoof Před 2 lety +13

      a rare sight

    • @willwildee3434
      @willwildee3434 Před 2 lety +18

      dw'in cytuno

    • @alfadog1879
      @alfadog1879 Před 2 lety +13

      I love listening to English people pronounce our towns and city's names right

    • @Tom-ns8vk
      @Tom-ns8vk Před 2 lety +31

      What do you mean? It's always such a delight hearing about their holidays to these made-up towns like Betsy Co-ed, Clan Dude-no and Doll Gel Lore

    • @demondelaplace5161
      @demondelaplace5161 Před rokem +10

      Bet was why co-ed of course

  • @theonlyenekoeneko
    @theonlyenekoeneko Před 2 lety +235

    I love the let’s blow stuff up but historically and cool episodes

  • @MabDarogan2
    @MabDarogan2 Před 2 lety

    Well done for making a genuine effort to pronounce Welsh place names correctly. Very rare for an Englishman. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

  • @mjd4174
    @mjd4174 Před 2 lety

    No clickbait here, this is good old 19th century fire and smoke fun. Thank you!

  • @mini-_
    @mini-_ Před 2 lety +426

    "Do not attempt this"
    Me, who definitely does not have gunpowder: _well there go my weekend plans, shattered to bits_

    • @ondank
      @ondank Před 2 lety +20

      Don't you mean your four weekends once you have gone through all that rigmaroll with concrete and drills?

    • @Tantusar
      @Tantusar Před 2 lety +10

      Clearly you built poor rock cannon if it shattered.

    • @zacrevier8721
      @zacrevier8721 Před 2 lety

      Most American cities have stores that sell gunpowder for making custom bullets

    • @ryledra6372
      @ryledra6372 Před 2 lety

      **blown to smithereens**

    • @S_Roach
      @S_Roach Před 2 lety +2

      @@zacrevier8721 Careful, though. BLACKPOWDER, used here, and SMOKELESS power, are two different things.

  • @nocah2561
    @nocah2561 Před 2 lety +153

    Ah hello past Tom and spam bots. Good to know we all are interested in Old fireworks

  • @billbasherbill1364
    @billbasherbill1364 Před rokem

    That was brilliant Tom.

  • @joshuawatson1902
    @joshuawatson1902 Před 2 lety

    This is fantastic.

  • @themennissvids
    @themennissvids Před 2 lety +159

    Old CZcams: Canon Rock
    New CZcams: Rock Cannon
    Tom Scott has been there for both.

  • @Kevin-xw1eo
    @Kevin-xw1eo Před 2 lety +33

    Can't wait for the next installment of "Tom became friends with a professional pyrotechnician".

  • @StonyRC
    @StonyRC Před 2 lety

    Bravo, gentlemen ... BRAVO!!!!

  • @natelee7080
    @natelee7080 Před rokem

    Dude. That. Was. AWESOME!

  • @EojinsReviews
    @EojinsReviews Před 2 lety +29

    THIS is determination. All this time and effort put over a 6 minute video. We don't deserve this guy, he is truly dedicated to his work. Hats off to you!!

  • @Weisz
    @Weisz Před 2 lety +1269

    Never heard of rock cannon before but these were amazing! I think i need to find myself an explosives engineer 😂

    • @danieljoybaguio7975
      @danieljoybaguio7975 Před 2 lety +8

      Hey, Louis! Didn't expect you to be here.
      Thanks for slapping a chicken for us!😄

    • @GotTimeGaming
      @GotTimeGaming Před 2 lety +1

      Yooo

    • @Nhatanh0475
      @Nhatanh0475 Před 2 lety +4

      Or getting your self a Explosives engineer degree, that's also work.

  • @JohnLyle
    @JohnLyle Před 2 lety

    That was brilliant!

  • @monumentstosuffering2995

    Superb historical work .