Bomb rumor connected to pork butt is just bad chemistry

The rumor that a bomb recently exploded at a local Catholic school actually boils down to pork butts, dry ice and a student-instigated chemistry experiment gone awry, school officials say.

Two weeks ago, a container of dry ice exploded in a restroom at Notre Dame Regional High School in Cape Girardeau.

Dry ice, a generic trademark term for frozen carbon dioxide, is often used to keep perishable food cool. According to Notre Dame principal Brother David Migliorino, that's why it was at Notre Dame in the first place.

A student brought the dry ice to bring home pork butts ordered through a school fund raiser, Migliorino said.

Two other students, who were not identified, placed some of the dry ice into a soda bottle, panicked when it began to fizz and left it sitting in a restroom sink.

"It went 'poof,' Migliorino said. "The boys were stupid, but it wasn't malicious."

Migliorino said the students were attempting a chemistry experiment of sorts, simply curious about what would happen. Both were suspended for two days following the incident.

No one was injured in the explosion, and the bathroom was not damaged, Migliorino said. The school held an assembly immediately following the incident, at which officials explained what happened to students. Parents were also informed, Migliorino said.

Similar incidents of what law enforcement officers call "dry ice bombs" have occurred recently at schools around the country.

In many instances, such as that in St. George, Utah, and Sunrise, Fla., "bombs" were made using dry ice and soda bottles as pranks.

cclark@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 128