A Chinese man recently gave his grandson an unexploded bomb thinking it’s a toy!

Crazy things happen in China. We’ve all been told, we’ve seen this time and again. For starters, there’s a country with a Communist leader- in this age of part-socialism, part-capitalism- and one who’s nearly, the elected leader for his entire life, in the most important chair of the country.

We’ve also heard of endless stories about primary schools coming under the massive clout of the web- call it may you may- of surveillance cameras. The idea not to pry on children; rather catch them sleeping, in an off-guard moment, so that they can be forced to study and do nothing else at school. This is China, still, it’s among the most noted economies in the world.

Yet, there’s another contemporary, crazy bit of news that might surprise you endlessly and would, for the recklessness of it, may even crack you up.

Out here at Huai’an in Jiangsu Province on the morning of June 19, an old man, working as a normal farmer discovered an old bomb, presumably from the World War II era and thought about it differently. Whilst spending some time out there in the fields, the said farmer, who’d been busy on a regular day, like most others, found to his utter surprise a “toy” when his shovel hit a crass, metallic object. Upon finding the toy, the best possible person he could’ve thought of giving it to- was his grandson.

Going by the name of Mr. Shui, the gentleman, a common loving grandfather like most others in a family-doting China was firstly excited, then amused at having found the toy, that too in his farming plot area.

Here’s what he had to share about the story. ‘The shovel hit something hard and I heard some sound, so I thought it was a brick. But then I realised it’s not (a brick) when I saw the wings at the back,’ At first thought, the old-world toy was a rather novel concept in the eyes of Mr Shui, who brought what was actually- an unexploded bomb- straight to his home.

He had even handed it to his grandchild. Soon, thereafter, pleasant and friendly scenes in the house regarding the excitement of an amusing looking toy would change to a rather bland outcome. Thankfully there would be nothing too serious or sombre. Fortunately for Mr Shui, as his neighbour would visit the house, shortly after the man had returned home for the day, he would find the two- the grandfather as well as the grandchild with the ‘toy’- and to his utter surprise, he could note that it was, actually an unexploded bomb.

Soon, thereupon, police and a bomb disposal squad were called home. There were bomb-disposal experts at the scene, looking at what was previously, erroneously conceived as a ‘toy.’ They would gather, that the unexploded bomb was actually a light-weight mortar.

Here’s what the cops had to say, “The bomb is partly corroded and covered in rust. There is a possibility that it might explode if it gets hit by accident.’ Thankfully, the situation was contained and that no damage was done. But if you come to think of it- you realise how hilariously stupid and dangerous could have this situation been? Just take a few seconds to fathom! Imagine, someone, gifting you a real-life unexploded bomb, handing it to you saying it’s a toy?

A local Chinese broadcaster even went ahead and submitted a finding in regards to the unexploded bomb. They were of the view that the light-weight mortar might have been stuck into the ground during the year 1948-49, just prior to the period of liberation. The Second World War was deadly in the sense that, in the immediate aftermath of the war- there were millions together who were left depraved, deprived, misplaced, dead and, displaced and whatnot! The horrors of the war still reverberate around the world and remind people of the ghastly morbid reality that wars impose.