Mystery Career #10: Who Am I? Can You Guess My Job?

My work draws crowds of thousands of spectators. My arena is loud and exciting, but I am not a rock star. I still enjoy my work! Can you guess my profession?

I spend most of my work week outdoors, inspecting sites, identifying materials and studying blueprints if they still exist, but I am not a contractor. I wear a construction hat, but I am not a construction worker.

I graduated from high school, but there is no school of higher education, vocational or academic to learn my profession. The bulk of my training comes from on the job, taught by veteran colleagues with years of hands-on experience. One can also gain some hands-on training in the military. Have you guessed my profession yet?

I work for many diverse clients. One month I could be working for the crew of a new Hollywood action film. The next month, I could be working for a large corporation in Dubai. I have done work in Alaska. I have done work in Egypt. My work can be done at extreme heights or the depths of the seas. Of course, divers are called in to help for those jobs! I stay on the ship and instruct them via radio. Have you guessed my profession?

It can take months to plan/set-up before my job can actually be done. When ready, we finish in seconds, if all goes as planned. Prematures and hangfires are rare, but still possible, and add an extra element of risk to my job.

Brisance and bubble energy are important terms in my trade. Footprints are important to me, too, but not yours or mine. Don't get use to that city skyline. I might be called on to change it in the name of progress. Still can't guess what I do for a living? Think house of cards. Did that give it away yet???? The next few clues surely will!

I use many chain link fence, gelatins, and nitroglycerine in my work, but gravity is my right-hand man. Gravity does the bulk of the job every time.

My job involves nerves of steel, a calm disposition, and a "safety first" mentality. If you are excitable, reckless and easily distracted, you could kill yourself or others in this field.

The ATF monitors my tools and OSHA monitors my practices in an attempt to make my job as safe as possible for us and for spectators.

Have you guessed that I am an explosives demolition expert? Great! I work for a large firm that specializes in controlled implosions, mainly of buildings. Ok, are you wondering what the chain link fence is used for? Did you know concrete can fly? Especially when it is covered with nitroglycerine explosives.

We demolition experts try to reduce the amount of flying debris as much as possible when we work. One never knows when some rabid spectator has gotten past blast zone security measures, usually by hiding in a nearby tree or manhole. Since we can't stop them all, we try to minimize the flying debris that can harm these idiots. Can you believe they usually disregard their personal safety just to get a photograph? I'll never understand some people!

If the terminology I used kept you guessing a bit, the definitions follow below:

1. ATF: Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
2. brisance: a property that measures how fast an explosive will detonate
3. bubble energy: the energy created by gas expanding during an explosion
4. footprint: the foundation area of a building
5. gelatin: an explosive with a gel consistency
6. hangfire: term used to describe an explosive that does not detonate at the designated time
7. implosion: bringing a building down within its footprint rather than exploding it so that debris affects surrounding structures
8. nitroglycerine: a highly effective explosive chemical compound
9. OSHA: the Occupational Health and Safety Administration
10. premature: an explosive that goes off before it should

To read the previous Mystery Career Installment, click here

Sources:

1. "NOVA Online/Kaboom!/Loizeaux Interview," pbs.org/wgbh/nova/kaboom/loizeaux.html.

1. "How to Become a Demolition Expert | eHow.com," ehow.com/how_4865739_become-demolition-expert.html.

1. "HowStuffWorks: How Building Implosions Work," science.howstuffworks.com/building-implosion.htm.

1. "Glossary of terms used in explosives and blasting," compiled by Larry Schneider, IEE.org.