A couple thoughts, as well as
another article...
First, this reminds me of a story from a friend who used to work for Lockheed Martin many years ago, where they were testing a missile without a head. It missed the hill it was supposed to hit and wound up in a back yard.
Second, which way were they firing that thing? It would seem that if they fired it north and a bit east, there is nothing to hit, unless there was a ricochet. If the police directed them to fire in the direction of the neighborhood, then who is that really on?
Third, which was there first, the bomb range or the houses? It's the whole question you get when people living near a 50-year-old airport in their 10-year-old house start complaining about the noise of the airplanes, or if one crashes into one of the houses. That latter situation is a very bad situation, but you know it's a risk when you build your house near an existing airport. In this example, I am thinking of the Hillsboro Airport in Hillsboro, Oregon. Watching as people called for the end of that airshow (which has been around longer than the houses) was disgusting. Well, if you build your house a thousand yards from an active bomb range, don't be surprised if something is exponentially more likely to happen in your neighborhood that would not happen in mine, which is several miles from the nearest airport or bomb range. Today at the Hillsboro Airport, during the air show, all planes have to stay over the field during their performance, not even flying over the crowd. How boring.
Third, the guys responded with class. They visited the home that the cannonball went through, and the article verified that they will not be airing the footage of the cannon blast. While signing autographs of neighbors and taking some pictures with others who want that after visiting the family, Adam says, "You'll forgive us for not smiling. It's not a smiling time."
Fourth, there it is in the article already, that word "lawsuit". Yes, the homeowner who had his home built a thousand feet from a bomb range is going to do what he can to sue the pants off Hyneman and Savage. They "need to pay for this. Not just the physical damage, but
everything else." Uh, buddy. There were no deaths, thank God. So physical damage is all there was. Again, if you're going to sue them for using the bomb range, maybe that's a lawsuit you need to take up with your real estate agent,
if you honestly didn't know there was a bomb range near your house.
Yes, I am a fan of the show. As President Obama said to the hosts, it helps get kids interested in science. While comical and fun and often presented in a downright stupid way, it's some of the most intelligent programming out there.