16 Things That Blew Up Real Good

When we're in the mood for an action movie, an intense scene often doesn't feel complete without a massive, fiery explosion. That said, it's still possible to go a little overboard and make it seem like set pieces are just exploding for no reason. I mean, that's just unrealistic, right?

Well, it's apparently more common than most of us would think. Things explode in real life all the time, and it's often pretty hard to figure out exactly how it happened.

From everyday household objects to the large, sophisticated rockets, everything can explode under the right circumstances, and we're going to show you the range of blasts that people have enthusiastically posted for all the world to see.

Today, we're going to marvel at 16 photos of surprise explosions that got everyone's attention.

SHARE this with anyone you know who lives for the thrill of watching things go boom. 

1. Whoever took this photo was such a crack shot that they captured the exact moment of the blast.

The person who uploaded this to reddit described the exploding object as a "shell," but they presumably mean "firework." After all, you'd think camping out to watch an artillery shell go off would be a little dangerous.

2. You wouldn't know it from this picture, but this used to be a mail truck.

Fortunately, the driver wasn't anywhere near it at the time because it looks positively gutted now.

3. This neighborhood had an unpleasant surprise when this house exploded.

The place was apparently vacant, which is certainly a good thing, but it also doesn't really help answer what could have caused this.

4. Someone learned the hard way that nitrous boosters and 108-degree heat don't mix.

A pressure relief valve is supposed to prevent this kind of thing, but even the manufacturer couldn't figure out why it failed here.

This car would have made quite a scene, but things really got insane when this next vehicle blew up.

5. Traffic on the I-26 wasn't going anywhere when this tanker truck exploded.

Although it definitely looks horrific, this blast was amazingly only responsible for some minor injuries.

6. The staff at this business came in to discover a toilet had exploded over the weekend.

It's still kind of a mystery as to how this happened, but the most plausible theory seems to be that a fan caught on fire and fell on it.

7. SpaceX's Falcon 9 rockets apparently can't stop exploding. 

As far as investigators can tell, these chronic blasts can be blamed on the pressurized helium on board. Nobody was aboard the rocket, but Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was disappointed to hear that a satellite he was planning to use was destroyed in the explosion.

8. This bomb had been sitting in Leipzig, Germany since World War II, so authorities had to blow it up.

Three hundred people were moved out of the area as a precaution, but police said that everything went according to plan.

That bomb would be considered an antique now, but evidence of an even older explosion was discovered about five years ago.

9. The way this ship looks, you'd never guess it blew up over 500 years ago.

The Swedish warship Mars was at the top of the line when it was built, and that was part of the problem. Its cannons boasted some unprecedented firepower, but when the ship caught on fire, they started to explode and eventually sank it. 

10. We're not sure why this bike exploded, but its rider was able to get off before it did.

This photo's uploader is a friend of the rider, who sent the picture with a message saying he was a "little preoccupied." I'd say that's putting it pretty mildly. 

11. Yeah, it's pretty safe to say nobody was expecting this electrical pole to explode.

When did real life suddenly start acting like a Michael Bay movie?

12. Sometimes the craziest explosions are the ones you can't see.

Whatever blew up, it seemed to take a water main with it.

We've seen some pretty big blasts so far, but they're going to have a hard time topping this one.

13. This is what it looked like when NASA's Antares rocket exploded.

Why? Beats us. But the important thing is that nobody was on board.

14. Here we see the aftermath of another mysterious house explosion.

It didn't cause any injuries, but it certainly tossed around this patio furniture.

15. An underground explosion in Atlanta sent this manhole cover flying.

Fortunately it didn't hit anybody, but that's definitely not something you see every day. As far as authorities could tell, the blast happened after an electrical vault malfunctioned.

16. Once again, we have a mysteriously exploding house with nobody inside.

Amazingly, it didn't even seem to cut the power on the second floor if those lights are any indication.

Don't forget to SHARE this on Facebook and see if we can't find out how this keeps happening.