Dummy Hand Grenade - Pineapple $13 To $13.25 FSSS @ Amazon

You live in California, don't you?

handyguy said:   Cops & Swat are not fond of these things, dummy or not.

In East Germany, during the Cold War you could purchase US made hand grenade bodies that look just like these in sporting goods stores. The East German examples had been painted red, and didn't include the inert primer or pins, they were just the body with rubber stoppers in either end painted red. If you scratched off the red paint there was green paint and yellow markings underneath.

I have no idea what they used them for, given that they were sold in sporting goods stores, and IIRC stores that sold school supplies, who knows. Remember, this is in East Germany, not West, and this was during the Cold War, the Soviets ran East Germany in those days. It is insane that the Stasi and KGB were less bothered about this kind of stuff than American Police Department.

IIRC the price of the grenade bodies painted red was around a quarter, of course that would have been a fair chunk of change to an East German without political or military connections and access to hard currency.

It could be used to give fish Heart attacks!!!

Is it a real grenade? It might be dangerous to have that around the house!

spdracer5g said:   handyguy said:   Cops & Swat are not fond of these things, dummy or not.

In East Germany, during the Cold War you could purchase US made hand grenade bodies that look just like these in sporting goods stores. The East German examples had been painted red, and didn't include the inert primer or pins, they were just the body with rubber stoppers in either end painted red. If you scratched off the red paint there was green paint and yellow markings underneath.

I have no idea what they used them for, given that they were sold in sporting goods stores, and IIRC stores that sold school supplies, who knows. Remember, this is in East Germany, not West, and this was during the Cold War, the Soviets ran East Germany in those days. It is insane that the Stasi and KGB were less bothered about this kind of stuff than American Police Department.

IIRC the price of the grenade bodies painted red was around a quarter, of course that would have been a fair chunk of change to an East German without political or military connections and access to hard currency.

I spent a good chunk of my early life on the other side of the Iron Curtain. After reading your post, it slowly came back to me that I actually used a similar inert grenade once, during a 5-day camp, free of charge, in a summer while in high school, and every morning out of those five we were trained by an army officer into paramilitary drills. One of the tasks were to throw such heavy grenades to a target on the ground. I suspect government-fueled anti-Western paranoia was even more intense in East Germany, and I have no doubt that the grenades you saw in stores were used for such training purposes. Hell, dad once brought home a gas mask he was told to buy from his salary. At least that mask did a good job in scaring my younger sister (of course, with the help of yours truly).

IgorSkovoroda said:   Incidents with "training grenades" happen more frequently than you might think. This might be the most recent:
http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2012/03/07/training-grenade-cause...

Something similar happened in the Washington DC area a couple of years ago. The item in question was a very light green translucent plastic with electronic components (no explosive compartment) clearly visible inside. It was left unattended in a car by an army civilian design engineer. As reported in the Washington Post, several agencies were involved in the response and aftermath.

Great...but really adds nothing unless you're suggesting banning all dummy weapons, BB guns (many look like higher-caliber weapons) or many items (given a low light area and the right shape) can look like deadly weapons.

respdoc said:   IgorSkovoroda said:   Incidents with "training grenades" happen more frequently than you might think. This might be the most recent:
http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2012/03/07/training-grenade-cause...

Something similar happened in the Washington DC area a couple of years ago. The item in question was a very light green translucent plastic with electronic components (no explosive compartment) clearly visible inside. It was left unattended in a car by an army civilian design engineer. As reported in the Washington Post, several agencies were involved in the response and aftermath.


Great...but really adds nothing unless you're suggesting banning all dummy weapons, BB guns (many look like higher-caliber weapons) or many items (given a low light area and the right shape) can look like deadly weapons.

Sorry for the misunderstanding, I don't think dummy weapons should be banned. I was trying to reinforce the point made by handyguy (i.e. be careful where you leave it) but I pushed the "reply" button instead of the "quote" button next to it.

If you have an obnoxious rival at work, next time you have an important presentation, salescall, etc... together out of town, slip this in his/her carry on bag at the airport when he/she isn't looking and you'll be the hero who singlehandedly saved the day after your colleague "snapped" and became unavailable while in custody of Homeland Security. This little gem could pay for itself thousands of times over in year end bonuses and promotions.

I understand that it is difficult to find such items, let alone find the opportunity for a visit back home, when one is detained at Guantanamo Bay.