this post was submitted on 04 Aug 2025
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Chile 2020, protestor handles a tear gas canister by dropping it into a container of water and baking soda.

I believe we need to acquire these skills pretty damn quickly.

Original post was in r/damnthatsinteresting

https://www.reddit.com/r/Damnthatsinteresting/comments/1mhdu66/chilean_protester_defuses_tear_gas_canister_with/


Originally Posted By u/InTheseTryingTime5 At 2025-08-04 02:14:44 PM | Source


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[–] dukeofdummies@lemmy.world 20 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I heard you can also just drop a traffic cone on it and fill it with mud.

Honestly this could be an entire Mythbusters episode...

[–] AceFuzzLord@lemmy.zip 14 points 1 day ago

I heard that during the Hong Kong protests that they originally used traffic cones to at least contain them. No idea whether mud would work, but a Mythbusters episode on tear gas would be amazing.

[–] phonics@lemmy.world 14 points 1 day ago (2 children)

How does that vessel work? There is a hole in the bottom for the canister and yet it has bakingsoda and water in it. Must have a lil lip or something.

I suspect it's neutralizing the gas as it comes into contact with the water instead of flooding the canister?

[–] Lenny@lemmy.zip 38 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

It’s a water jug (or similar), with the hole at top and the solution inside. He’s just very fast at putting it in, and it happens as the cameraman is coming around behind him so you can’t really see it. It’s also why he’s holding the top to keep the gas in.

[–] phonics@lemmy.world 7 points 1 day ago

Ohhh thought it was kinda like those beer cups that fill from the bottom at sports arenas. Like damn dude, the engineering involved is masterful.

[–] krashmo@lemmy.world 9 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Seems to me like the guy picked it up and dropped it through the hole in the top of the container in the moment when his body was blocking the camera from seeing what his arm was doing. Then he covered the hole with his gloved hand.

Can't the cops just throw a new gas can at the defuser and see if he thinks it's funny?

Those things are expensive af.

[–] iveseenthat@reddthat.com 2 points 1 day ago